All For One, One For All II: Return
by Muse Lord Mai-chan
Summary: Sequel to Beginnings: Three years have passed since White Christmas. Separated from others, the Smashers must reunite to fight the enemy that separated them in the first place! With some missing and death looming, will the Smashers succeed, or die trying?
1. Recovery: A New Journey

Well, here's the next installment of the All For One, One For All series! Now, please welcome back our prestory hosts!

Roy: Hey, we were only gone for a few days.

Marth: I feels like its been a while though. To me, at least.

Link: Yeah. Do we have a special guest?

Ardath: Not for this prestory chat. Maybe next time.

But, we do have a new prestory host. Please give it up for... Fox!

Fox: Hey.

Disclaim, please, Fox.

Fox: Pyro Aru doesn't own us, only her characters, and her ideas.

All: Onward to Chapter One!

* * *

"_I don't know where this road  
Is going to lead  
All I know is where we've been  
And what we've been through". – _Boys 2 Men_ It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

* * *

_

**1: Recovery: A New Journey**

A boy stood with his back to a tall pine. His auburn hair was like a living flame, threatening to lick the tree and burn it to the ground. In contrast, his eyes were twin cool sapphire blue wells, so deep one could get lost within them. In his brown-gloved hands was his favorite and only sword: The Sword Of Seals.

He turned and swung around the tree. His blade was blocked by another, slimmer blade with a steely ring. His opponent, a prince with navy blue everything: hair, eyes, clothes, and a golden tiara. His weapon, the sword Falchion gleamed in the sunlight, a bracelet dangling from the hilt.

The swordsmen thrust and stabbed. They would grin as they danced the deadly dance of the blade.

"Okay, stop you two, before someone looses an arm or leg. That's good for today." Called a blonde man. He wore a tattered maroon cloak.

"Yes Matthew." The redhead saluted with his blade, like his father had taught him, to his opponent. "Great job today, Prince Marth."

"That's ex-prince, Roy. And you did well yourself." Marth also saluted, a habit he picked up from Roy and his father. Marth hadn't cracked a joke since three and a half years earlier. He still hated Eula, an old man they thought was their friend, and Luan, Roy's girlfriend Katan's brother, although he had killed both to avenged Samus, the bounty hunter Marth had fallen in love with. Roy missed Samus, who had shown him around the Smash Mansion, but he missed Katan the most. Her graceful beauty, her silky obsidian hair, fiery sapphire eyes…

"Thinking about Kat again?" Marth asked, sheathing Falchion. "I doubt she would forgive me for killing her brother. I just couldn't help it…"

"She wouldn't blame you. He did kill Game, try to kill DK and Pichu, and kill-" Roy stopped when Marth looked away, pain written across his face.

"I keep having the same nightmare. Watching Samus getting shot, her soft voice fading to nothing, her emerald eyes going dull…"

Roy smiled weakly, remembering watching as Samus died, on the White Christmas, as they now called it, the Christmas Samus and Luan were killed, Katan disappearing, possibly dead as well, and the last time he had seen Link, Zelda, Peach, and all the other smashers.

"Roy, Marth! Get down!" Matthew tackled the boys.

"What the-" Marth mumbled as his face was pressed into the ground.

"There is something out there." Matthew pointed to the sky. Two gray forms floated above the small plain near the cottage. Chad was still inside, ready to defend the cottage. The forms opened and two smaller forms jumped out. One looked like a fox while the other an avian.

Roy blinked at the two. Bittersweet memories filled his head as he stood and called out. "Fox! Falco!"

The two turned around. They grinned and rushed to the three. Chad appeared in the cottage doorway, armed to the teeth. Marth pushed Matthew off himself so he could breathe again.

"Hey, are you cheating on Katan? And is that Marth too?" Fox snorted. All the same, he bent down and helped Matthew up. "I thought you two were better than that." He clapped Roy on the back after Matthew finally up righted himself.

Falco helped Marth up. "We've been looking for you two all day. We first came in above Altea, which is looking down right ruined. Then we flew to Elibe, and went to Pherae, nearly getting our tails chopped off, but your father has some sense. Told us you were here to cool off."

"More or less." Marth muttered darkly. Falco and Fox looked to Marth. But he ignored their stares.

"Don't mention Samus, at least not around Marth." Roy whispered just enough for the two to hear him. They nodded silently, curiosity covering their faces.

"Who are you?" Matthew drew his iron blade. Fox and Falco's hands strayed near their guns.

"Oh, they're old friends of ours, so put that blade away before you hurt someone." Roy warned Matthew.

"Dad!" Chad was running over. Fox and Falco relaxed as Matthew sheathed his blade.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce them to old Matthew?" Matthew asked, a sly look in his eye.

"Oh, yes. Matthew, Chad, this is Fox and Falco. Fox, Falco, this is Matthew and his son Chad." Marth introduced them.

"Well met, Fox, Falco." Matthew nodded. "I'm not quite sure why you look like what your names are, but if you're friends of Roy and Marth here, you're friends of mine."

"Well met, yourself, old man." Falco grinned.

"Falco, mind your old beak." Fox hissed as Matthew glared daggers at the falcon.

"So why are you guys here?" Roy asked. "We haven't had any contact with anyone for these past three years."

"Well, we didn't either, until about a week ago. Master Hand found us while we were training in our Arwings." Fox started.

"Apparently the Wireframes have gathered under a single lord. They're going to take out as much of Nintendo's lands as possible." Falco added.

"Like I was saying, Master Hand found us. Seeing as we could traverse between the new planets, he wants us to gather the smashers to fight a common enemy. We can contact him from the StarFox. Kirby has also been put on the job, so Master Hand has told us. The Ice Climbers Nana and Popo have already been alerted." Fox finished.

Roy and Marth nodded knowingly, but Matthew and Chad looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, futuristic stuff. Marth and I joined a league far away, with futuristic stuff, such as instant and safer lighting. No fire needed." Roy explained. The two's eyes bulged.

"Wow, instant light! Without fire too. So those things are futuristic too…" Chad pointed to the gray Arwings.

"For you guys, yes." Falco looked at their cottage.

"Anyways, since I don't think you two can get off this planet, why don't you come with us? We're heading for Hyrule next. All we need to do is get Katan…" Fox looked to Roy. But Roy's face was hidden. He looked to Marth, who shook his head.

"She's gone." He whispered. Fox nodded gravely.

"So is Ness." He spoke loud enough for all to hear.

"Pichu will probably be gone too." Roy stated grimly. Falco and Fox turned to him.

"Hm? Pichu too?" Falco looked at Roy.

"Yes. Ness and Pichu were with her when she disappeared." Roy explained, a little haunted. "But we can look for them, since we need all the smashers."

Marth coughed. They wouldn't get all the smashers. Mr. Game and Watch was gone, and so was Samus. Both killed by Luan.

Matthew narrowed his eyes. "So you're leaving?" he asked.

"Yeah, we have to go. To save the planet." Marth looked a bit stronger than he had been in the past three and a half years.

"Well, don't go giving your hopes up, both of you." Chad told them. "And make sure you come back so we can have another spar."

"Sure thing, Chad sir." Roy saluted to the young thief.

Fox and Falco led the way back to the Arwings. They were small and only had enough room for two people. Roy climbed into Fox's Arwing, Marth into Falco's Arwing. Fox handed Roy a set of headphones.

"It makes it easier to speak to the other Arwing." Fox explained when Roy gave him a confused look.

Roy and Marth waved to Matthew and Chad, who stood side by side. "Tell Nils I've gone to help some friends and maybe find Katan!" Roy called. Chad gave him a thumbs up and Matthew simply nodded.

A low whistle began as Fox started up the Arwing. It turned into a whirring sound after a moment of speeding up. Fox pressed several buttons labeled with symbols Roy didn't understand. The Arwing lifted into the air, the ground sinking away beneath them. Matthew and Chad became dots in the middle of a green field. They disappeared as the island began to get swallowed up by the huge endless ocean. Roy took one last glimpse at the Dragon's Gate Mountains, as he called them. Elibe appeared, sinking below them. Far in the distance were the Bernese Mountains, and to the North, the plains of Sacae. Ostia glowed from its perch in the middle of a field. A lone Pegasus Rider soared above it. It was probably Marquess Ostia's Lady, Florina, out to stretch her Roy even imagined that he saw Pherae. His father would probably worry.

Finally, the soft blue sky turned dark blue, then pitch black, dappled with pin pricks of light. Nearby, another planet, green with forests and a wide sweeping plain turned slowly. That was the planet Hyrule was on, the forest the Kokiri forest. That was their next destination.

But instead of heading to the green planet, the Arwings turned away towards what looked like the ship above Corneria that some of the smashers had battled on.

"Behold, the mother ship, StarFox." Fox grinned. "My father helped build it."

:_Okay Fox, are we headed to the ship first or what?_: Falco's face appeared on a holographic screen. Marth's appeared next to it.

"Yeah, we need some bigger Arwings if we want to bring all the Hyrulians with us." Fox replied. He pressed more buttons.

"This is Fox in Arwing 15732 to StarFox. We're returning, so open the hatch." Fox called to the mother ship.

:_Welcome back, Fox._: A hare's face appeared. :_We'll clear the docks immediately!_:

"You do that then, Pep. Tell Slippy we also want some larger Arwings made ready for the next trip to Hyrule. We need enough room for about eight people, including Falco and our other two friends with us currently."

:_Yes sir!_: the screen disappeared. After a moment's wait, a compartment on the Star Fox began to slowly open. Fox and Falco gently steered the Arwings into the hanger. With a loud creak, the hanger closed behind them. Only after a _whoosh_! of air, did Fox open the cockpit.

"Leave the headphones in there. I'll get you some better ones while we wait till we can take off." Fox instructed.

"Okay." Roy pulled the headphones off and dropped them on the seat. Then he pulled himself out of the cockpit. This was the first time he was ever in the Star Fox. It had walls made from thick air tight steel, and there was machinery everywhere. Roy could hardly believe he had just come from home, where they didn't even have simple toilets!

"This way." Fox called as Falco and Marth pulled themselves out of Falco's Arwing. The foursome then trudged away to the heart of the Star Fox.

* * *

"_Walk on by  
Walk on through  
Walk 'til you run  
And don't look back  
For here I am_" –U2, Unforgettable Fire

* * *

Well, I'm sure a lot of you have read the preview. The chapters are a bit shorter this time. I'll work on making them longer, or getting more chapters in faster. 

Fox: Hey, Do I get to be one of the more focused on characters in this?

Roy: Yeah. Welcome to the group!

Ardath: Oh, and I'm the leader. I get to boss around Aru.

Link: You're so mean.

Marth: Well, That's all for this chapter. Pichu?

Pichu: Read and Review and you'll get a hug from me!


	2. Memories: Journey to Hyrule

Well, the journey has begun!

Roy: Oh boy! I've never been in space before!

Marth: So much like a little kid...

Ardath: Oh Marth, stop acting like a grouchy old fox.

Fox: Hey, that's rude!

Ardath: Oh sorry Fox. Our special guest today is the one, the only, Ephraim!

Ephraim: Hello there. I'm Prince Ephraim from Renais.

Roy: Hello Ephraim. I'm General Roy, son of Marquess Pherae.

Link: Would someone please just disclaim?

Ephraim: Pyromaniac Aru doesn't own us. Nintendo does. Suing her is pointless. You will recieve nothing worth your time and life.

Marth: Good job, Ephraim.

Young Link: Onward to Chapter two!

* * *

_"Look up, I look up at night,  
Planets are moving at the speed of light.  
Climb up, up in the trees,  
every chance that you get,  
is a chance you seize.  
How long am I gonna stand,  
with my head stuck under the sand?  
I'll start before I can stop,  
before I see things the right way up." _-Coldplay, Speed of Sound

* * *

**2. Memories: Journey to Hyrule**

Falco lead the way through the building, his boots clinking on the steel floors. Only several minutes on the Star Fox, and Roy was wishing he could be on Elibe, or Hyrule, or Nintendo, with grass under his feet and fresh air to inhale. Marth looked like he was thinking the same thing, his brow knotted up. But Fox and Falco looked more at home with the artificial air.

Falco opened a sliding door and allowed Marth to step inside. He followed, nodding to Fox, who grabbed Roy's shoulder.

"Can I talk to you about something, Roy?" Fox asked.

"Sure." Roy stopped and let the door close. "So what's on your mind?"

"Samus. We haven't been able to contact her at all. Then you tell us not to mention Samus. Do you know something we don't?"

"Yes." Roy's face darkened. "Remember the last Christmas?"

"The White Christmas, three and a half years ago." Fox nodded. "Hard not to remember."

"Well…" Roy hesitated. "Samus was killed shortly before the white light came."

"Killed?" Fox's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed. "How?"

"There was an old man, he used to work at one of the malls in Smash City. We met him on the day that Bowser broke the heater. He backstabbed us, and took over Luan's body. He shot Samus so near to the heart that she died soon after. Marth then… sort of lost it… and killed both Luan and the old man."

Fox narrowed his eyes even further. "I see." He sighed. "Well, that explains why we couldn't contact her. We couldn't even find her ship. We did pick up signals from her suit, though we couldn't find it."

Roy nodded. "It was after that that the white light over took all of Nintendo, sending us back to our homes. But like I said earlier, Katan didn't come home. Her Lord, my uncle, even searched for her, even a body, but he didn't find a thing. Only her little sculptures and several of her daggers." His heart ached for her love to return. It was hard recovering, even if they had only known about their infatuation with one another for only a day.

Fox looked thoughtful. "I see. I'll tell Falco in a bit. But for now, lets take a break. I'm a bit exhausted, having looked for a planet since I woke up this morning."

Roy nodded. Fox opened the door, and saw that Falco had just finished chatting with Marth. What about, Roy wouldn't know.

"Anyone hungry?" Fox asked.

"I know I am." Falco's stomach growled, confirming his statement.

"I'm kind of hungry myself." Marth patted his stomach.

"Same here." Roy sat down next to Marth.

"Alright." Fox disappeared into the hallway, probably to fetch some rations.

Silence ensued. Falco studied one of his flight feathers, while Marth habitually messed with Samus's bracelet, the one she had given him for Christmas. When she gave it to him, Roy had no idea when.

"So, what have the two swordsmen been up to?" Falco asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Not much." Marth replied. Silence ensued again.

"How about you, Falco?" Roy asked.

"Oh, I've been on missions with the Star Fox Team. Fox is the leader, just like his father James was. Then we also have Slippy on the team, and Peppy retired from the team. General Pepper told him he could retire any time he wanted. He's about fifty-five now, and he's retired. I'm not going to retire until I can no longer hold a gun anymore."

"Or until Death takes you?" Marth asked.

"Yeah, more or less. I've already come in several close calls, but Fox has gotten even more. I'm a born Arwing pilot. Fox himself says I'm better in flying an Arwing than him."

"I believe you. You're a falcon, after all." Roy commented. "My grandfather died to protect his homeland, and he was only about forty eight."

The door slid open again, revealing a pink cat humanoid, and Krystal the fox humanoid. "Hey, Falco." Krystal smiled her sly smile.

"Falco, how are you, dearest?" the cat bounced to Falco and hugged him.

"I'm great, Katt. Do you remember Roy and Marth?" Falco turned to the two.

"Yes. Weren't they…?" Katt was interrupted when a frog entered the room.

"Is Fox in here?" the frog asked. It was Slippy Toad. He wore a baseball cap that reminded Roy vaguely of Ness.

"He went to get some food." Falco told Slippy. "He should be back soon."

"Oh good. I wanted to tell him the Transports are almost ready." Slippy moved out of the doorway and to the left.

"Good. We'll leave after we get a bite to eat." Falco announced.

"So you're leaving again?" Katt asked, giving Falco puppy dog eyes. (How ironic…)

"Yes, we want to move as fast as possible. The enemy won't simply wait for the smashers to assemble." Falco sighed.

"And there have already been reports of wire frames on a couple of planets, including Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule." Fox spoke as he entered the room. "Things are already getting grim. Zelda and Ganondorf are holed up in Lon Lon ranch, while Link and Young Link are in Kokiri Forest. Mushroom Kingdom can hold off for a while longer. Meanwhile, Kirby has sent in reports of a mystery planet. He doesn't want to risk going to it by himself, though he might be able to stand up to what ever is on it. He left us the coordinates before going back to Popstar for a new ride."

"That doesn't sound good." Marth hissed.

"What do you have there?" Roy asked, pointing to the food.

"Ah, some fresh bread, cheese, and some cider." Fox announced, laying the snack on the little steel table in the room. It was devoured quickly, while Fox took Krystal into the hall to "talk" to her.

As the last cider was downed, Fox came back in. "Well, Slippy?"

"Ah, the Transporters should be ready by now." Slippy saluted.

"I told you you don't have to salute to me." Fox grinned at his friend. "Well, I guess we'll be on our way."

"Bye, Katt." Falco nodded to his girlfriend. She sniffed.

"Come back safely, Falco dear." Katt called softly after him while the four ex-smashers followed Slippy to the hanger.

The Transporters were like larger versions of Arwings, but they could hold up to five people in each. Before they got into the transporters, Fox and Falco gave Roy and Marth their very own headphones, similar to Fox's.

"Well, We'll report back soon, hopefully, and in one piece." Fox called to Slippy.

:_You had better, Fox McCloud. Your father and Krystal would be angry with me if you don't._: Peppy laughed over the intercom.

"See you later, Fox, Falco." Slippy called before deserting the hanger. Roy climbed into the co-pilot seat of the transporter. Buttons surrounded him. He didn't touch one, in fear of messing the Transporter on.

Falco and Marth's holograph faces appeared in mid air. :_Ready to go?_: Falco asked.

"We were born ready." Fox replied with a grin. "Peppy, open the hatch."

:_Yes sir._: Peppy's face had appeared momentarily before disappearing again. The hatch slowly opened as Fox revved up the Transporter's engine. It whirred into life, and lifted into space beyond the hatch, following Falco, who was already out and drifting towards Hyrule.

Once again, they were surrounded by the desolate and unmerciful space. Fox pushed his transport towards Hyrule. Roy looked out to Elibe, but he couldn't recognize any of his world from above. He turned to Hyrule, which began to loom closer and closer. The closer they got, the faster they went. The atmosphere pulled them in gently, as if unsure of the intruders. Fox began to press buttons rapidly, so that they wouldn't make a deadly crash landing on Hyrule's plains or Kokiri Forest.

Link had told Roy and Marth about his homeland. It was almost totally green, with brown-gray mountains to the north east. In the middle of the plains was a castle. It was closed up. Roy noted grimly that an army of the creatures called Wireframes had set up their camp outside. Fox and Falco flew the transports south, to avoid the sentries set to watch for reinforcements. They flew fairly low towards a hill that turned into a steep plateau. A single path had been cut through to a hollow in the plateau. More Wireframes were here, attacking a boulder that stood stubbornly in their way. Beyond the boulder was a farm. A single chestnut horse with a coal black mane was grazing in the pasture, her ears turned to towards the boulder. Several cows were grazing nervously, and a cloud of chicken like birds were stalking around the edges of the fence. There was a store tower beyond the fence, a barn and a small house near the entrance. The cows scattered when the transports landed in the field. The horse readied to charge, while the cuckoos already began to charge. Link had told them how those deadly creatures had almost killed him once, had Malon, the ranch owner's daughter, not saved him by calming the cuckoos.

Fox hesitated at opening the cockpit, but Falco jumped out immediately, and raised his feathered hand. The cuckoos froze, unsure of whether they should attack the intruder, or leave him be.

Suddenly, Falco was set upon by the charging horse. She was a smart mare. Roy hit the open button and jumped out, leaving his headphones. He reached the stampeding horse and whistled a tune to it. Link had told him about his horse too. The horse would only calm if her song were played, whistled, or hummed. Epona calmed down a bit. Falco spat out a clod of dirt.

"What a welcoming." He coughed out a feather.

"Are you okay, Falco?" Fox laughed. "I thought you had everything figured out. Good thing Roy's here."

"Good thing Link told me about his horse." Roy stood up for Falco. Marth slid out of the cockpit.

"Oh my god, its you!" came a familiar feminine voice. Zelda attacked Marth with a hug, knocking him to the ground.

"Mmfh!" Marth tried to speak, but his face was buried in cape and grass.

"Zelda!" another voice called. A girl, about Zelda's age, with rust colored hair, sky blue eyes, and a beige peasants' dress had come from the barn, bow in hand, short sword at her side. "What are these things?"

"These are my friend's rides. Its futuristic stuff." Zelda explained, getting off Marth, who coughed indignantly. "This is Prince Marth, General Roy, Fox McCloud, and Falco Lombardi."

Fox and Falco nodded to Malon. Roy gave a curt bow, while Marth dusted himself off.

"I'm Malon. Its nice to meet you all." She looked at Fox and Falco the most. Zelda smiled.

"So? Did you come to save us?" Zelda turned back to her friends, a grim look on her face. "I heard what happened to Samus. I'm sorry, Marth."

"Mm." Marth looked away. He stroked Samus's bracelet out of habit.

"Where's Ganondorf?" Falco asked. "Wasn't he supposed to be with you?"

"He was… until this morning. He just… disappeared. The boulder he and I put in the entrance is still there, and he can't move it by himself. So… we're not sure what happened to him. Then we can't reach Young Link or Link. We could send a cuckoo to them, but they never have trusted those sweet creatures." Something in Roy wanted to make him laugh at this comment, but he kept his cool.

The four nodded grimly. "So Ganondorf has gone missing… and no doubt the stupid Wireframes saw us come in here. We'll have to fly to them.

Zelda nodded grimly. "We also need to get Malon and Talon to safety."

"What this about getting old Talon to safety?" came another voice. Malon smacked her forehead.

"Sir, its too dangerous to stay here any longer. We can take you and Malon to Hyrule Castle. Its safer there." Zelda turned to an old man. He looked similar to Malon, only more masculine and older.

"I'm not leaving my cows or Cuckoos behind. And what about Epona? She not just Link's horse." Talon nodded to Malon. "But sir-" Zelda took a step forward. "I said no, and you're not going to change my mind. Malon can go to Hyrule Castle, but I was born here, and I'm going to die here." Talon crossed his arms and stalked off to the house. Zelda looked downcast. Malon sighed. "Poppa has always been stubborn. He loves the Ranch." Malon touched Zelda's shoulder. Zelda turned, a fierce look in her eyes."We need to find Link. We're going to take back Hyrule." She growled.

* * *

Well, that will be fun writing. The next chapter will have some fighting in it! Yayness!

Roy: Finally, some good fighting.

Marth: My blade, it thirsts.

Link: Where have I heard that from before... I know I've heard "My blade, it thirsts" somewhere else...

Ardath: same here.

Roy: From Morrowind? That MMORPG game?

Roy, the G means game.

Roy: Oh.

Marth: I can't remember. Anyone who knows gets to hug Roy!

Link: Oh, that's good.

Roy: Hey, that's not fair!

Pichu: Read and Review and you get free anytime hugs from Roy!


	3. Arrival: Battle For Hyrule I

Woot! I finally finished, and sadly, it's not a long Chapter.

Ardath: And why is that?

Roy: Because she neglected her school work

Marth: That can't be good. Oh, and I would like to welcome today's special guest, Aru's very own friend, Ariande!

Ariande: Wow, it's been awhile since I was part of a story

Fox: I don't know what you mean. Anyways, you should do a better job on your school work.

I couldn't help it... I was busy with other work. And that Math test... ugh. I'm surprised I even got a C on it! It was like... Hard!

Roy: But it's just Algebra.

Ardath: The best score out of the entire class was an 80 by Aru's friend Nicci. (That's her nickname)

Link: How do you know?

Ardath: I'm her personal imaginary friend, as she calls me. It's something her friends were wishing was real with their characters. At least one of them. But now, I get to argue with her in class! Yay!

Ugh. As if I don't get enough from Derick the Rapist and Jeff. (Dubbed the rapist by me.)

Marth: Right... Ariande, could you disclaim?

Ariande: (blush) Sure Marth-kun. Aru doesn't own anything, not even Ardath. She does own me, though she doesn't want to admit it.

All: Onward to Chapter 3!

* * *

_"Link, he come to town  
Come to save the princess Zelda  
Ganon took her away  
Now the children don't play  
But they will when Link saves the day  
Hallelujah!_

Now Link, fill up your hearts  
So you can shoot your sword with power  
And when you're feeling all down  
The fairy will come around  
So you'll be brave, and not a sissy coward

Now Link has saved the day  
Put Ganon in his grave  
So now Zelda is free  
And now our hero shall be  
Link! I think your name shall go down into history!" –System of a Down, Legend of Zelda

* * *

**Chapter 3: Arrival: Battle For Hyrule I**

"We're going to take back Hyrule."

The ex-smashers blinked at Zelda's fierce, almost suicidal look. In a way, it frightened them.

"Zelda, how are we going to do that?" Fox began to argue. "We're only five smashers, against who knows how many wire frames. We'd be slaughtered!"

"He has a point Zelda. What would Link say?" Roy joined in. "Marth and I know just how much it hurts to loose the one you love." He added quietly.

Zelda had a hurt look in her eyes. "Fine, if none of you are going to help, I'll do it myself. I just happen to love my lands. Besides, once Hyrule has fallen, they'll move on to Altea and Elibe, or any of the other homes of the smashers. If we strike here and now, then we might avoid more unnecessary deaths. At least we'll die for a reason."

"Zelda, the reason we're here is to gather all the smashers so we can fight the Wireframes together, with the help of Master and Crazy." Falco tried to reason. But once Zelda made up her mind, she wasn't about to change it.

_This is pointless. _Fox thought with a sigh.

"We could go get Link and Young Link." Zelda pointed out. "Then use guerilla tactics."

Roy had to agree. If they had any chance of success, the two Links and guerilla tactics would definitely improve them. _I can't believe I'm about to do this…_ "Fine. I agree. I'd rather avoid loosing my home and what's left of my family." Roy gave up. "Just as long as we can locate Link and Young Link first."

Zelda smiled a scary, very un-Zelda like grin, but the other three frowned. "Roy, are you going crazy?" Fox asked. "You'll get yourself killed! There's way too many Wireframes out there, and I have a feeling that's just a small amount of the whole Wireframe army."

"I know, but I'm avoiding loosing anymore than I've already lost." Roy drew his sword and turned to Zelda. "I pledge the Sword of Seals to helping save Hyrule." He bowed before her, offering his sword to Zelda.

Zelda smiled, took the heavy sword, touched both of his shoulders, and sheathed his blade in his sheath. "Then you shall be forever remembered in Hyrule as General Roy of Pherae."

Fox, Falco, and Marth shook their heads. Finally, Falco gave in. "I will help, so I can protect Katt from any harm. I pledge my gun."

"And mine." Fox stepped forward. "For Krystal." Fox looked like he didn't want to believe himself.

"Might as well. The Falchion is under your orders, milady." Marth nodded solemnly, lacking his cocky grin. It still pained Roy to see Marth so down and out.

"That settles it. We'll split into two groups. Roy leads one, I'll lead the other. Fox and Marth, you stay here. Falco, go with Roy and try to locate Link and Young Link. Just let me find you a guide…" Zelda hurried off to the barn, and re-emerged with a little ball of light. It fluttered around Zelda's head like a little bird or butterfly. Zelda held up her hand.

"This is Navi. She'll be a big help in finding the Links. Just be nice to her, since she's misunderstood quite a bit." Zelda let Navi flutter to Roy. Navi looked him in the face, studying him. Roy took a step back in alarm.

"Well, at least he's not like that good-for-nothing boyfriend of yours, Zelda. And what's this, a handsome fox and falcon." Navi teased Fox and Falco. "Well, this will be fun."

"Just find my good-for-nothing boyfriend, Navi." Zelda sighed. "And please do it fast."

"Whoops, did I say that out loud?" Navi snorted. "Well, lets hurry up."

Falco led the way to his transporter. "We'll take the transporter, it will be safer. And just for the heck of it, Roy, I'm going to take you on a crash course of gunning."

Roy blinked. Falco pointed to a gun barrel sticking out from beneath the belly of the transporter. "That, my friend, is the transporter's gun. Now just climb in here…" Falco pointed to several triggers. "And use those to fire. To move the gun, just move the triggers. At the end of the gun is a pointer. Use that to aim as well as you can."

Roy nodded, trying to remember each word Falco had just said to him. He climbed into the gunner's position. Falco reappeared with Roy's headphones. "Here, we can communicate with these, so keep them handy.

"Okay. I'm ready then… I guess…" Roy gulped nervously. He had never used a gun once, even the laser guns that the arena's would drop during melees. He had always used the Sword of Seals. He had only fought once, after all.

The engines above him hummed to life once again. Roy gave a nervous wave to Marth, who nodded like a robot back to his Pheraen friend. The transporter lifted into the air.

:_Boy this thing is heavy. I would have preferred my Arwing to this piece of crap._: Falco complained. Roy snorted. The transporter lifted a bit further, then took off towards the Kokiri Forest. They came over the Plains of Hyrule. Roy experimented with the big gun, pulling the trigger. His heart leapt to his mouth as it let out a loud bang. But to his liking, several Wireframes fell down and didn't stir. He pulled the trigger several more times, getting used to the bang. He took down about twenty Wireframes before they passed into Kokiri Forest.

:_That was an okay job, Roy._: Falco commented. Silence ensued a bit longer. :_Okay, we're going to land soon. Keep your sword ready, 'cause we don't know what the heck is out there._:

Roy gulped, drawing his Sword of Seals. He watched as the forest grew closer and closer. Finally, it touched down in a clearing. Roy jumped out of the gunner's position. There were several Wireframes in the clearing. They jumped up from their log and attacked.

Roy sliced one of the Wireframes. It let out an odd cry, like the coo of a baby. _What a weird death cry… _Roy thought. Finally, Falco joined in on the battle. He punched one Wireframe, and shot at another. _Well, lets hope no reinforcements come, but these guys are pretty easy…_

Suddenly, two more Wireframes strolled out of the forest. One was shaped as a tall muscular male, the other a slender strong female.

"Elites!" Falco cried, firing his gun at them. They both stepped off to the side. Roy charged at them as he sliced another Wireframe down. He stabbed the male one. The Elites both let out a muffled laugh. The Female kicked Roy in the gut as he went to unsheathe his blade. He landed on the ground, the breath knocked from his lungs.

_Holy Wyverns that Wireframe is strong! _Roy thought, panting while he tried to catch his breath. Falco lunged at the Elites. Roy stood up, still panting, his stomach protesting painfully.

"Hya!" Roy slashed at the Wireframe Elites. But there was still no damage done. The male Wireframe sent Falco crashing against the teleporter. He slumped on the ground, unconscious.

"Oh, thanks a lot Falco." Roy called, hoping the Avian would wake up. Nothing. The two Elites stalked closer and closer to the Pheraen General.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by Roy's head, so close it ruffled some of his unruly hair. It embedded itself in the male wireframe's pixel-like heart. It fell to the ground dead. In the confusion, another arrow embedded itself in the female's heart too, killing her.

"Stay were you are, stranger." A woman's voice growled. "And drop your sword. I have twenty mercenaries surrounding you, plus myself, all training their bows on you."

Navi floated out of the transporter, having hidden in there until the battle was won. "Saria! Is that you?" Navi called.

"Navi?" a girl stepped out of the bushes, a bow in her hands and matching arrows that also matched the two embedded in the wireframes.

"Saria! I thought that was you!" Navi fluttered to the girl. "Oh, these are friends of Link and Zelda's. You wouldn't happen to know where the Links are right now, would you?"

"Actually, they're around here somewhere. We've been fighting those wire creatures for the past few hours, trying to get to the Plains of Hyrule."

"Saria! Where are you?" called an all too familiar voice.

"Over here, Link! Navi brought some old friends of yours too!" Saria called. They heard a curse and something about Navi, then the two Links appeared, their faces serious and tired. They perked up when they saw the two other smashers.

"Roy! Falco!" Link grinned. "What are you doing in this Goddess forsaken place?"

"Master Hand is gathering the smashers. There are already several missing, including Ganondorf." Falco informed. "Oh, and Zelda is on a suicidal mission to take back Hyrule from the Wireframes.

Link hissed and Young Link gasped. "Zelda? On a suicide mission?"

"Yep. She's pulled us, Fox, and Marth in already. She wants you guys to help too." Roy sheathed his sword.

Young Link looked a bit angry. "Zelda shouldn't be thinking about suicide missions! She's the Triforce of Wisdom for Goddess' Sake!"

Roy shrugged. "Well, the plans are already underway. We're going to use guerilla tactics. I know a bit about being a tactician too. My father taught me what he learned from the Legendary Tactician of Elibe, who no one has seen since the end of the Nergal Campaign."

Link shook his head. "Well, I guess we'll have to fight. Once Zelly makes a decision, she sticks to it like peanut butter."

The others looked at him. "What, I'm hungry, and I haven't had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich forever!"

The transporter appeared once again above the trees, the windshield glinting in the weakening Hyrule sun. It seemed different from the sun on Elibe, although it was the same star. Roy was once again the gunner, with Link, Young Link, and Saria using their bows. It took a while to convince that the transporter wasn't another crazy scheme of evil Ganondorf's and it was there to take her prisoner. Falco controlled the transporter easily as he made his way back towards Lon Lon Ranch cum headquarters. The boulder still stood, the wireframes having given up for a while on attacking the blockade. Roy was surprised they hadn't tried to climb over the boulder. Good thing they didn't.

"We're back!" Falco called as the transporter touched down. Fox, Zelda, Marth, and Malon appeared from the barn. Zelda had ditched her dress for a more comfortable for sneaking outfit of a pair of Malon's old pants and a simple shirt Fox had loaned her. Malon no longer had her work dress on and was dressed similar to Zelda.

"Hey Zel, long time no see." Link waved. "Now what's this I hear about a suicidal mission?"

"I'm going to take back Hyrule, and I want the help of the smashers, or at least those of us who are here." Zelda put her hands on her hips. "And it will just be us too, if Fox, Falco, and Kirby are the only ones left who can transport smashers safely through space, from what Fox has told me."

"What about Ganondorf? He's still here, right?" Young Link inquired.

"He… Disappeared." Malon told the Links and Saria, looking a bit mystified.

"Disappeared? That wuss…" Link started.

"Don't start, Link. Now, the plan is we'll stick together, just so incase something happens. We could also use the transporter's gun. We'll most likely want to use distance weapons. Marth and Roy don't have any, so we'll have to think of something…"

"I can use a blaster." Roy raised his hand. "Just put me in front, so I don't hit anyone of us."

"Same here." Marth crossed his arms. "But I know I'll be a better shot than Roy. Samus… Taught me."

Link blinked for a moment before remembering what happened. "Well, I guess that solves that. I still think this is a bad idea. What if one of us gets hurt?"

"We'll just have to avoid getting hurt now, won't we?" Zelda had a gleam in her eye. She stretched her arms. "Well, I guess we should start as soon as possible."

"Just wait a moment." Fox called, running to the transporter. He disappeared inside, then popped back out with a small box.

"Look what we have here." Fox reached into the box, and pulled out a thin circular object. It had a green spot in its middle.

"Where… where did you get those Fox?" Zelda's eyes glowed as she took one. "I thought that all the motion sensing bombs went with the mansion."

"Yes, well, Master Hand had given me some a long time ago. Let's see if these babies still work, shall we?" Fox put the box down. It contained about sixteen of the little bombs in all.

"Okay, we each get two. Malon, Saria, we'll have to show you how to use these. It's quite simple actually." Link gently picked one up and pointed to a small button on the bomb. "You press this, then you have ten seconds to throw it as far away as possible before the motion sensor comes online."

"Online?" Malon blinked, confused.

"Um… What's a motion sensei?" Saria asked.

"Motion Sensor. It senses movement, then explodes like a bomb." Young Link explained. "It's quite simple, actually."

"Okay, well, I guess we'll have to see what we can do, huh Malon?" Saria looked to her friend. Malon nodded.

"Okay then, let's go kick some wire butt." Zelda turned towards the entrance. The group walked in a suppressed silence.

* * *

Well, I hope that was better. I thank AvatarZERO for the critism! And no hugs from Roy, like he requested.

Ardath: Thank you to AvatarZERO and RoyalFanatic for the reviews!

Roy: (Reading)

Marth: What are you reading, Roy?

Roy: Don't know. Another of Aru's stories. Ardath is in it, and her boyfriend Semaj, and her Master Izu... and all her other friends that tend to scare me.

Fox: Ah, her original story. It's rather good. Weren't you going to post it on Fiction Press?

Yes, but I forgot my password and don't feel like retrieving it.

Link: Right... Pichu?

Pichu: Read and Review and you'll get a hug from any requested smasher or Ardath! Aru might even give you a hug... But anyways, we all like reviews!


	4. Failure: Battle For Hyrule II

Wow, something must have really screwed me up. This is the longest time it has taken for me to update!

Roy: We're very disappointed in you, Aru

Ardath: Wait, don't blame it on her, blame it on... (Dun dun dun...!) Writers' block!

All: Gasp!

Marth: Well, at least you managed to get this chapter up and going.

Link: I agree.

Ardath: Do you have any others to blame?

Yes. Let's see... First it was the last week of the first semester, and boy was that stressful. Then it was the almost daily quizzes our English teacher was giving us. Then it was the lack of motivation. I don't have any good music anymore to inspire me. But after long chats with my buddies, Terra, Kippy or Jamie, and Melyy, (who was more a pain than a help, but I'm still thankful for her) and the recent addition of Charlie, I finally managed to scrap up some inspiration for this chapter. Thanks to them! As for the next several chapters, I already have an idea planned out for them... Quite a twist of events coming up, and it might cheer everyone up. Sorry for the wait!

Fox: Pyro Aru doesn't own anything. Almost. I'm sure you've all heard of her plans to take over Nintendo though.

All: Onward, to Chapter 4!

* * *

"_In Truths That She Learned,  
Or In Times That He Cried.  
In Bridges He Burned,  
Or The Way That She Died.  
It's Time Now, To Sing Out,  
Tho' The Story Never Ends!  
Let's Celebrate  
Remember A Year In The Life Of Friends!_" Seasons of Love, Rent Musical

* * *

**Chapter 4: Failure: Fight for Hyrule Part II**

The silent group stood on top of the boulder. To the West, dark clouds were rapidly approaching, like an ominous sign. A strong wind began to tug at Roy's cape, which began to flutter. He had his two motion sensing bombs and a blaster gun. Link, Young Link, Saria, and Malon were testing their bow strings. The wind would harass their arrow's flights, but they had good shots. To make the speed faster, they tightened the bowstring a bit. Zelda was praying to the three Goddesses for protection. Falco and Fox were looking over their own guns for any flaws or rust.

Before them was the plains, which was holding the Wireframe army. Roy noticed that the army was much smaller than it had been earlier. Several of the Wireframe transport ships were gone as well. He hoped Elibe would be okay just long enough for him to finish up here, although he knew he wouldn't be going back anytime soon.

"Well, luck is in our favor at the moment. The army has shrunk. Can anyone contact Master Hand?" Zelda asked.

"Yes." Fox tapped his headphones. He carried them everywhere, like a cell phone.

"Okay, call him. I want to know where those Wireframes are." Zelda commanded.

"Yes ma'am." Fox mocked her. He put his headphones on, then went silent. "Master Hand, it's Fox. We're on Hyrule with the Hyrulian smashers and the Fire Emblem Smashers. We are going to confront the Wireframes, and we're wondering where the rest of the army is." Fox went silent. "No, it's Zelda's idea. We've already tried to talk her out of it." More Silence. "Yes, she won't listen." Fox rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, I will. Now where is the rest of the army?"

Roy looked to Zelda, who was studying the army. He silently joined her, seeing as he was also a tactician of sorts. The layout was next to the forest. Their best bet was striking from the forest. To the other side of the army were steep hills. That could also help, if the hills were close enough, though the forest was still the better approach. The other two flanks were clear, making that the worst place for sneak attacks.

"Roy, do you think we should try those hills first, or the forest?" Zelda asked the swordsman suddenly. Roy jumped, then turned to Zelda.

"Sorry, you startled me. I think that our best chance will be attacking from the forest. We'll just have to be careful for traps and scouts and sentries. The hills, if they aren't too far, could be used for a good stand, since we could climb to the top and have the upper ground." Roy explained.

"If we go through the forest, we'll also have to watch out for the native creatures. Most aren't afraid of the Wireframes. There might even be some ReDead in those trees. They can't be killed. I've been caught by them enough times to know that they're dangerous." Link pointed out. Young Link nodded in agreement.

"Well then, we'll just have to find a safe path to the forest. The Wireframes are guarding the main entrance. There are scouts traveling up and down the border as far as a mile. We should be able to slip through if we head a bit further." Saria added.

"Okay then. Let's head out." Fox stuck his blaster into its holster and grinned. "We've got some ways to go."

The group launched themselves off the rock. Link stopped to help Malon from the rock, seeing as she was more accustomed to flat landscapes. The group then started out with an easy trot to the southern area of the forest. To the southeast, they could see a bit of the ocean, glimmering softly. The Wireframe army took no notice of the small group as they darted behind the rolling hills of the Hyrule Plains.

* * *

Malon began to slow first, followed by Zelda and Young Link. Saria and Link also looked a bit weary. Fox and Falco looked like they could sprint all the way to the forest and back several hundred times before they tired. Roy and Marth's armor was beginning to slow the two swordsmen. Navi, who had popped up from nowhere in particular, flitted about the girls' heads, totally unbothered by her quick flying. 

Finally, Malon called for a breather. "I… Haven't run… Like this… For… A long… time…" Malon panted, bending over. Young Link plopped himself down in the long grass.

"I'm tired!" he complained. Link smacked his forehead.

"Was I like that when I was younger?" he wondered aloud.

"Yes, you were." Navi snorted. Link shot daggers at her with his eyes as Fox and Falco laughed at him.

"Okay, we'll take a five minute break. I don't suppose we brought any food, did we?" Zelda looked around. "I'm feeling a bit hungry…"

"Don't start, Zelda. It was your idea to go on this crazy adventure." Marth growled. Zelda looked at him in alarm. He _never _sounded like he had just then.

"Are you okay Marth?" she asked. Marth ignored her and jogged up the nearest hill to check their position, wary of the army nearby.

"He's been like this since Samus was shot." Roy looked after his friend. "Whenever he worked hard, he'd go into mood swings. The really scary ones are the ones when he doesn't say anything at all, and has one of those deadly gleams in his eye."

Zelda shivered at the thought. "And I was just trying to lighten the mood too…" Zelda looked after the gloomy swordsman, who was still at the top of the hill.

The troop rested in silence. Zelda and Roy climbed another hill, and took note of how close the army was. They were still far from the forest, but near to half way.

"Once we get to the forest, I suppose we should let Saria lead the way through. She knows the forest like the back of her hand." Zelda informed Roy. She looked over to Marth's still form.

"It's okay Zel. Marth's just…" Roy tried to think of an appropriate word.

"Heartbroken?" Zelda clasped her hands. "What about you? You lost Katan too. I know that she didn't make it back to her home planet like almost everyone else has…" Zelda turned to Roy to find him studying his boots. "Oh goddesses, I'm sorry Roy. I didn't mean to…"

"No. Marth and I have to face it. We've both been running from it for the past several years. But we both know that Samus isn't about to be resurrected. And Katan was too close to the blast, along with Pichu and Ness. We've probably lost them too." Roy turned and looked into the wind, his hair fluttering. The last of the sunlight lit up both Zelda's and Roy's hair, making one gold and another a true living flame.

_He looks so… forlorn… _Zelda thought, looking at the pyro swordsman. "Maybe there is a way we can resurrect them all." She whispered.

"Roy! Zelda! We should move out soon!" Saria called from the little bowl. Marth had already begun trudging down the hill, Malon slightly behind. He looked… _Defeated_. It hurt to see him that way. Zelda winced at his haunted looks.

Roy and Zelda joined the party at the bottom of the hill. Fox and Falco were antsing to get started on the next part of the run across the Hyrulian plains. "So, what's our status?" Fox asked.

"Good so far. The army hasn't gotten wind of us yet." Zelda studied the faces of her friends. "Well, I suppose we should head out. I think there is a storm coming."

Without another word, the group left the protective bowl. Instantly, they were buffeted by the strengthening winds. They struggled to keep on balance as they set off at a struggling trot. Zelda, Malon, Saria, and Marth's hair whipped at their faces, Link and Roy's waving madly. Malon ended up tucking Navi into a pocket to keep from loosing the little misunderstood fairy. Falco held his wing like arms close to keep them from getting caught and injured by the wind. Fox closed one eye to the oncoming force. Marth and Roy were forced to take off their capes in danger of them getting seen.

* * *

It took the group twice as long as it should have to reach the sentry line point. They ducked behind a hill to avoid being seen by the wire sentries. But to their misfortune, the wind was coming from behind them. It was be seen or be winded. 

After what seemed like a harsh eternity, the sentry disappeared, totally unfazed by the strong wind. The group rushed the forest, not stopping for anything as the sentry disappeared around a hill. They finally stopped in the forest, their breathing laborious.

Malon plopped down on the ground, ignoring the strong wind, which remained strong even in the forest. Navi stuck her head out of the pocket.

"Maybe we should find shelter and attack as soon as the storm ends." Link suggested. Young Link was on his back, exhausted. "I don't think we'll be able to hold them off, in our current state. The wind doesn't even affect them."

The others could only murmur in agreement to the proposition. All eyes turned to Saria. "So, where is the best place for hiding, Saria?" Zelda asked.

Saria pulled herself off the tree she had been leaning tiredly on. "Well, there is a little cave near here. I'm sure we could fit into it, though it might be a tight squeeze."

"That should be good. We can cover the entrance and use Roy and Marth's capes, with their permission, of course." Zelda looked to the swordsmen. They nodded, too tired to voice their answer. Fox took Young Link from Link, who handed the tired youngster in relief. Fox and Falco were the least affected of the group.

Saria led the way to a cave, out of the way of the hunting trails, and surrounded by brush. The entrance required for the entrant to crawl, though inside the cave grew larger. Zelda cleared the cave of insects using Din's fire, then led the way in. Fox and Falco remained outside to cover their friends and to pull some of the brush towards the cave. Falco retreated first, followed closely by Fox and a pile of brush.

The group sat in a circle, not quite sure of what to do. Fox went back out with Roy's Sword of Seals, which soon poked down into the little cave, creating a hole, which Fox covered with a pile of large leaves. Zelda then lit a small smokeless fire, the nearly invisible smoke going through the hole. The cave was cold and clammy. Roy and Marth's capes served their purpose well and kept the warriors off the clay and dirt. Soon, the cave was a little home for the group. They soon all fell into a deep sleep, besides Falco, who offered to take first watch. They slept on undisturbed.

* * *

Roy was first to wake. Falco had fallen asleep on duty, allowing them all to sleep through the storm. Roy crawled out of the cave, and was almost instantly drenched by the rain. Thunder pounded in the distance. The heart of the storm had already past, but the rain still fell steadily. Roy crawled back into the cave. He sat by the fire, hoping he would dry off some. But soon, Fox awoke. 

"What… Hey!" Fox looked at Roy, who held a finger to his lips. Quietly, he asked Roy, "Why didn't Falco wake me up? I was next for watch."

"He fell asleep." Roy answered, poking at the small fire with a root. The end burst into flame, then died away, only to flame again when dropped into the fire.

Fox let out a hiss of air. "That idiot… he could have gotten us captured or even killed…"

"Oh well, we needed the rest. Even you needed it Fox." Roy pointed out. "The main part of the storm passed, and we slept through it like there is no tomorrow. Heck, maybe there isn't any tomorrow."

"Don't say that." Zelda had woken and heard Roy's last comment. "We're all going to live, and we're going to win. Now, let's wake everyone up. Now might be the perfect time for an ambush."

"Oh Zelda, when did you get ideas of ambush and war into your pretty head?" Roy asked as he reached over to Marth's shoulder.

"I guess you could blame it on Ganondorf. He's such a war ridden freak. I wonder where he went…" Zelda was waking Malon and Saria up, while Fox tackled Falco.

"Mmf!" Falco squawked like the avian he was, then attacked Fox back. "What was that for!"

"For sleeping on watch, idiot." Fox grinned at his friend.

"Oops." Falco laughed airily, rubbing his head self consciously. "Well, I was tired, and you were out like a dead fox…"

Fox coughed, forming a fist. He hit Link on the shoulder, waking the hylian with a start. "What the heck?" Link bolted up, hitting his head rather unceremoniously.

"Time to boogie." Fox announced. Roy shook Young Link awake as Marth sat up, not even yawning. He looked ready to kill. Roy frowned at Marth's attitude. It was getting worse everyday.

"Shall we head out then?" Zelda asked. Saria and Malon were yawning behind her. She was already working on putting out the fire. The others merely nodded, then began to crawl out, Roy and Link first, followed by Marth, Falco, and Fox, and finally Young Link and the girls.

Like Roy, they were soaked soon as they trudged through the forest. Even the thick foliage didn't keep out the rain, though it would probably keep out snow. But it never snowed in Hyrule, even on the coldest winter nights. The group found themselves on a nearly invisible hunting trail. Twice, they dove into the bushes and hid as they heard a sentry on another close trail, or even their own trail. Once, Marth even attacked and killed the sentry. He was scolded for it, for that alone could alert the army of a hostile presence. They hurried along, ill thoughts running through several of their heads.

Saria soon led them away from the trail and back towards the plains. They paused in a thick bush filled area. The bushes reached higher than Link's head, reaching for the cloudy skies. Peaking through the bushes, they were met with a heart thudding view.

"Oh my goddesses…" Link swore. The army had shrunken a bit over their rest, but it was still a large force. Fox and Falco gulped, and looked to one another. Zelda's eyes watered, as if she were already being forced to give up. Malon gasped, and Saria swore to the goddesses. Marth remained impassive, a look of grim determination in his eyes, and Roy's eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure we can take them out?" Young Link asked, fingering the motion sensing bomb he had.

"No, not anymore." Zelda admitted. Marth turned on her.

"Are you saying we came all the way out here in a storm, risking our necks and health only to say that this might as well be labeled impossible?" He growled menacingly.

"Yes, I am. I didn't think this force would be this big up close." Zelda hissed. Suddenly, a horn blew. A Wireframe had either heard or spotted them, and the army was charging them.

"What the-" Link started, only for Saria to grab his arm.

"Run!" Malon screamed.

"Drop your motion sensing bombs!" Fox shouted, grabbing his and throwing them at the enemy. The others, except Marth did likewise. Marth paused for a moment, then followed along.

Explosions rocked the air as Wireframes ran over the bombs, setting them off. Link and Saria threw some of their own bombs at the ranks of wireframes as well. But not enough of the wireframes were going down. The group began a mad dash for the ranch. Their only hope of escape was the transporters.

The Wireframes were slowed by the bombs, allowing the group to rush the shortest way to the ranch. The boulder reared up into view after only a mile's worth of running. Link, Marth, Fox, and Roy helped the girls up, while Falco lifted Young Link onto the boulder. They then reached down and helped the swordsmen and the fox onto the boulder. From there, they jumped off onto the other side and made for the transporters.

"You guys go." Saria stopped. "We'll stay here and fend off those Wire creatures."

"But it's too dangerous!" Zelda tried to reason with them.

"If we feel too threatened, we'll take the cows, cuckoos, Epona, and Talon to the forest by the ocean route. Ruto will help us." Malon explained. "It's okay, just hurry and defeat the master of these creatures."

Zelda wailed, and hugged her friends, possibly for the last time. "Don't wait, start now. I don't want you here too long, and the cows will be too slow. Tie Talon up and put him on Epona if he doesn't agree to go with you."

"Okay Zelda." Saria turned and hugged Young Link. "See you around, little buddy." Saria nodded to Link.

"Link!" Navi fluttered through the air, ignoring the rain. "You'd better come back so I can bug you again."

Link grinned. "When have I not come back, Navi? See you around, and may the goddesses be with you."

"Good luck everyone. May the goddesses watch your backs." Malon smiled to the smashers as they rushed to the transporters, waving.

"Good bye!" Zelda shouted as Fox jumped in his transporter. She transformed to Sheik, and followed. Roy scrambled into the transporter as well. The transporters took to the sky as the last smasher got into their seat. The Transporters lifted off, flying away as Saria, Malon, and Navi hurried off for their final escape.

* * *

Well now, that was interesting.

Roy: Very.

Fox: I wonder what's going on in Marth's head...

Marth: I seem like an idiot who can't get over anything. Do you have to do that?

Ardath: Oh hush up. Come here, I'll tell you a secret.

Link: Why does he get a secret? What about me?

Marth: Really! That's awesome!

Link, Fox,& Roy: Okay...

Pichu: Read and Review and I'll hug you! Unless you don't want a hug from me...


	5. Reunion: Crash Landing

Weee! Update!

Roy: Isn't this the one you've been planning over the past few weeks?

Ardath: Yeah, it is. She wasn't orginally going to stop where she did, but it makes a good stopping place.

Fox: Didn't you surprise yourself with this one?

Oh yes, I didn't know I had five pages only twenty minutes into starting it. I guess I'm finally getting out of my writers' block (Celebrates)

Marth: Finally!

Link: What?

Marth: You'll see. Someone disclaim.

Roy: Aru doesn't own squat. Ardath will protect her from lawyers, so don't even try it.

All: Onward to chapter 5!

* * *

_"No lost words, whisper slowly, to me.  
Still can't find what keeps me here.  
And all this time I've been so hollow, inside,  
I know your still there."_ Evanescence, _Haunted_

* * *

**Chapter 5:Reunion: Crash landing**

Hyrule fell away from beneath the transporters. The sky darkened, little twinkling lights appearing across the sky, spreading like wild fire. Fox worked hard, pressing buttons, hitting a switch, toggling the radar, and adjusting different fields of sight. Zelda poked her head between the two seats. "What's going on?" she asked, feeling Fox's seriousness.

"We've got company, and it's not just Falco's transporter." Fox replied between gritted teeth.

Sure enough, on the radar, a large group of hostile ships had appeared. Roy looked through the window and watched as the ships came closer. A laser beam flew under them and rocked the ship.

"Ah crap." Fox hit the gas, causing the transporter to lurch forward and Zelda to fall backwards into Link. "Our main gun is out."

"What?" Roy felt panic begin to chew on his leg. "Let's get out of here!"

:_Fox! We're in trouble! They've hit our wing and main gun! We need to get out of here, and fast!_: Falco's face appeared.

"I read you Falco. Keep flying, there's a desert planet somewhere around here. We can hide out there." Fox brought up a virtual map. A green arrow pointed to their current location. He touched a yellow blip in the map. The transporter lurched again and began to speed off.

"Where are we going?" Link asked.

"We need to hide somewhere. It's too dangerous out here." Fox hit another button. "This is Fox to the Star Fox! We request help!" he called, his voice faltering slightly.

:_Fox, is that you? This is a bad time, you know. We're being pursued by some hostile ships, and we have our hands full at the moment. Sorry about that pal._: Slippy replied.

"Great. Just great." Fox rubbed a paw across his forehead. He then sat forward. "There, that planet will make a nice hiding spot."

The planet was plain, and didn't look like a good place to hide. There weren't giant caves, only a sand covered expanse. Roy imagined seeing a couple small spots where a civilization could be. But that wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

:_Fox! We're hit, we're hit: _Falco yelled. His transporter flew by them, straight at the planet. Fox flew after them, avoiding the lasers that flew by them.

"Just keep flying, Falco! Land on that planet, and we can hold them off from the ground!" Fox shouted. He was sounding desperate.

"Fox, I don't think this planet is a good idea. We're already… Arg!" Falco's screen blinked out.

"Oh _crap._" Fox's eyes widened. Falco's transporter was pulled towards the planet so fast, Fox thought Falco might have hit the gas. But soon, their transporter was racing down as well.

"This planet's gravity pull is too great!" Fox shouted as warning screens popped up, blinking red. "We're going to have a rough landing, folks. Link, Zelda, buckle up fast!" Fox gripped his own safety belt.

Link and Zelda rushed as they scrambled to sit down in the seats. The transporter began to shake violently as the riders held on for the life. The ground rose to meet them at a sickening speed. The last thing any of them remembered was a jolting pain through out their bodies, sand everywhere, then, blackness.

Flashback… 

_Roy blinked against the sun. He turned as a girl called him. "Roy!"_

"_Hey Lilina!" Roy smiled at his friend. "What's up?"_

"_Papa is meeting a king from a far away land today. He wants us there so we can meet him!" Lilina took Roy's hand and pulled him back towards Ostia, its walls glinting in the sun. Several cracks were visible where years ago the wall had been breached by his father and mother's enemies. The gates stood open, the townsfolk busy with their everyday jobs. Several stopped and bowed to Lilina and Roy. Lilina would giggle while Roy would tell them they didn't have to be so humble to him. They hurried on through the gates, where they saw that the soldiers were getting ready for the arrival of the unknown king. Hector, Lilina's father, was among them._

"_Make sure those barracks are as clean as the kitchens, or I'll have you scrubbing the floor with a paintbrush! Ah, Lilina, Roy, come this way." Hector led the two children along as the soldiers laughed at Hector. He wouldn't make them scrub the barracks with a paintbrush unless their lives counted on it._

"_Hurry, the king will be here soon. Roy, you're a mess! Where have you been? At the creek, I presume. No matter, we'll have you spic and span in no-"_

"_Hector!" A female voice rose above the laughter of the soldiers. A slim lady, dressed like the nomads of Sacae with emerald hair and eyes to match tackled the marquess._

"_Lyndis! Well met, my friend. And Rath and Sue too! What a surprise. How have you all been?"_

"…" _Rath, who was leading a horse with a small fragile girl on its back just looked at Hector. Lyn laughed._

"_Oh Rath, can't you just say hello to an old friend?" Lyn wrapped her arms around her spouse._

"_Well met, Hector of Ostia." Rath nodded. He turned to the girl. "Say hello."_

"_Hello Mr. Hector sir." The girl bowed her head._

"_Little miss, no bowing to me. Do you mind?" he looked to Lyn and Rath. They shook their heads, and Hector grabbed the girl. The horse remained still, just like its master had taught it to. The girl giggled as Hector set her down and patted her on the head._

"_Well," Hector turned to Lyn and Rath. "You're just in time. A foreign king has come from Altea across the sea to visit."_

"_Why splendid!" Lyn smiled. "Shall we, Rath dear?"_

"_Mm." Rath replied. The small group went into the keep, Roy and Lilina surrounding the girl._

"_Hi, I'm Roy." Roy introduced himself._

"_And I'm Lilina, daughter of the Marquess of Ostia." Lilina smiled. "And who are you?"_

"_I'm Sue." The girl grinned tomboy-ishly._

"_Nice to meet you, Sue." Roy and Lilina chorused._

_Later…_

_Hector, Eliwood, Lyndis, Florina, Rath, Roy, Lilina, and Sue stood in front of the throne in the throne room of Ostia. Soldiers lined the way to the throne, several holding flags on the ends of their lances displaying the emblem of each territory. Ostia's was held by Hector's own friend, Oswin, while Pherae's was held by the old paladin, Marcus. Lyn, Rath, and Sue wore their finest sacaen clothing. A hub rose outside the room the soldiers straightened themselves as a man and a boy entered, followed by several knights bearing different colors. The man walked up to the group, leading the procession half way, where his own soldiers stopped. Only he and the boy continued until they stood in front of the group._

_The king bowed his head. "Lord Hector, I presume?" the king spoke with a strong voice that reminded one of a deep flute. "I am King Cornelius of Altea. This is my son and heir, Marth."_

"_Well met, King Cornelius, Prince Marth." Hector bowed respectfully. "I am Hector, Marquess of Ostia and leader of the Lycian League. These are my friends, Lord Eliwood and Roy, his son, of Pherae, and Lady Lyndis and her husband Rath and their daughter Sue, formerly of Caelin, now of Sacae. And finally, my beloved wife and daughter, Florina and Lilina."_

"_Well met, to you all." The king smiled gently._

"_Come my friend, you must be weary. Is it okay if Marth goes with the kids?" Hector asked._

"_Oh, of course. You play nice now Marth." Cornelius smiled at his son as the adults made their way out of the room._

"_Soldiers dismissed!" Hector called. The solders bowed, then made their way out to the barracks. Soon, the four kids were alone in the throne room. Silence ensued as Marth stared at Roy, Lilina, and Sue._

"_Hi." Roy started. "I'm Roy."_

"_Marth." Marth replied. He stepped forward and dropped to a knee in front of Lilina, kissing her hand gently. He did the same for Sue. The girls giggled. "I'm glad to meet you all."_

"_But we haven't told you our names!" Sue swatted the air. "I'm Sue."_

"_And I'm Lady Lilina." Lilina batted her eyes at Marth, earning a laugh from Roy and Marth._

"_Let's be friends!" Roy smiled, saying the line that always began a life long friendship…_

End Flashback 

Roy woke slowly to a head splitting headache. His head swam as if it had turned to a liquid. He opened his eyes to a furry face.

"Ahh!" Roy sat up. Wrong move. His head seemed to blow up with pain. Fox pushed him back.

"Don't scare me like that! Now stay down, you have a concussion." Fox told him. Roy gingerly lifted a hand and touched his head. When he looked at his glove, he saw that it had blood on it.

"It's not serious, is it?" Roy asked, worried. He didn't want to be a burden to his fellow smashers.

"Not as serious as Zelda's arm. The bone was sticking right through her elbow. Pretty nasty."

"How is everyone else?" Roy asked. His head was already beginning to feel better.

"They're all fine. Falco and Link are a bit roughed up, and Young Link passed out from shock. Marth is Marth." Fox looked to the door of the transporter. Roy noticed that the floor was covered with sand and the door was broken open.

"What happened?" Roy asked.

"We crashed. We're on the desert. Been for less than an hour. It's still morning here, but its warmer than heck."

"I noticed." Roy could feel perspiration on the back of his neck.

"Ah, Roy." Zelda poked her head in, her arm supported by what looked like Marth's cloak. "Ready for me to heal that head of yours?"

"You can heal?" Roy blinked. "Why didn't you heal yourself?"

"I can't heal myself, only others." Zelda told him. She entered and rested her good hand on his forehead. Her hand felt cool amid the hot stuffy air of the transporter's remains. His head suddenly felt clear and pain free. He sat up.

"Thank you, Zel. I only wish I could do the same for you." Roy touched his head to reassure that his head was in one piece.

"That's okay. Let's go see to Young Link." Zelda stood and disappeared out into the blistering heat of the desert. Roy and Fox followed.

There wasn't much of a scenery. There was sand, sand, and look! More sand! The dunes rolled away, some looking like they could be mountains. A stiff breeze blew up little sand devils that swirled a ways before collapsing. Nearby was the second transporter, with one wing blown off, leaving a black mark where the wing should have been. The door was open, and just inside was a green lump on the ground. Link and Marth were sitting in what shade there was from the transporter.

"Hey Roy, feeling better?" Link asked. He looked a bit worn out.

"Yeah, thanks to Zelda." Roy sat down beside them as Zelda disappeared into the transporter. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah, just a bit sore." Link stretched his hands above his head. "And it feels warmer than heck. Very unlike Hyrule."

"I know what you mean." Fox sat down as well.

"This place… It's so plain… but there's something about this place that makes me want to run and shout with joy." Marth suddenly said. He was staring at the horizon. The other three blinked at him.

"Marth…?" Roy blinked. "Is the heat getting to your head or what?"

Marth looked at him. "I think so."

Young Link suddenly came out, followed by Falco and Zelda. "Wow, this place is hot!" Young Link rubbed his brow. He then looked up. "Uh guys… I think we have trouble."

On the horizon, where Marth had been staring moments earlier, a large band of humans had appeared. And they didn't look friendly. The smashers stood and drew their weapons wearily as the humans surrounded them.

The humans were a huge group of bandits. They were at least one hundred strong, and the heat didn't seem to bother them at all. Their leader stepped forward, his status shone by his nicer armor and silver axe.

"Argh, look at the likkle newsies to Desert. A pretty one too!" the bandits chuckled. "Arg, just hand over the girl and all your riches and weapons, and we just might leave you alive."

"No way." Fox growled, his blaster trained on the bandit. Two arrows and another blaster were trained on him as well.

"Argh, then we'll just have to kill them. Atta-" the bandit didn't get to finish his sentence as Young Link let loose his arrow, slaying the bandit. This angered the rest of the bandits, so they came on. The smashers then noticed a lone figure on a dune to the east. It sat on a motorbike and wore all brown clothing except a single snow white scarf. It also wore a leather helmet and goggles. The bike rolled silently down the dune as the rider pulled something out of a bag at its side. It chucked the item.

A huge explosion sounded. As soon as the bomb finished blowing, lightning ran through the bandits, killing them. To the west, two smaller figures were controlling the lightning. They were dressed exactly the same as the first, only without a bike.

Finally, from the south came a company, about three-fourths the size of the bandits, but certainly more battle ready. They fell on the bandits ferociously. The smashers didn't even have to lift a finger.

The three original figures paused, then met at the north before disappearing on the bike around a dune. The smaller company surrounded the smashers, weapons at the ready.

A man stepped forward. "Are you with the Empire?" the man asked. Two bows and blasters were trained on this man.

"Empire?" Roy looked confused. "Well, actually, we're from space. We kind of were ambushed and crashed here on this desert."

"That's like what the last spy said. Do you have proof?" the man growled. He raised his sword threateningly. But it dropped as a voice was raised.

"Marth!" a blur; one of the soldiers had tackled Marth. The smashers turned in alarm, only to be dumbfound.

"Samus?" Roy squeaked. The blonde haired, green eyed bounty hunter had Marth locked in a kiss.

"Sammy!" Zelda shouted with joy. Marth was crying with joy. Fox and Falco were grinning, though some confusion showed through on their faces. Young Link was the only one who was genuinely confused.

"Samus! But how-" Marth helped Samus up.

"I'll explain later." Samus told him before turning to the leader, who had his arms crossed. "Sir, these are my old friends."

"Well then. I guess it's safe to say you aren't with the empire." The man nodded. He turned to the soldiers. "Set up camp!"

The sound of a motorbike was heard. The three figures were coming towards them. Samus turned in alarm.

"Oh no… I forgot…" Samus mumbled. Roy turned to her. "Roy, I'm sorry…" Roy blinked in confusion.

The bike stopped, the figures jumping off. Their clothing hid most physical features, except that one had a tail and the tallest was female.

"Did we do good?" the medium one asked. The smashers started at the voice. The helmet was removed. It was Ness, yet it wasn't. Where as the Ness they knew had black hair and eyes, this Ness had snow white hair and silver eyes.

"Yes, you did great." Samus winced. The smallest's helmet was off. It was Pichu. But this Pichu had white fur and milky blue eyes. Roy looked to the last. Was it…?

The final helmet was off.

Katan. Yet it wasn't.

* * *

Cliffy! Oh no! And look, they're back!

Marth: No more sad me!

Roy: Oh boy!

Link: (dances)

Fox: Why is everyone so happy? (Sits back, watches TV)

Pichu: Read and Review! Dutch Apple Pie for reviewers!


	6. Recall: Found and Lost

Well, I could say that I have been terribly busy anda bit depressed, but I won't continue. My first oneshot was deleted because I put song lyrics in it.(cries over lost oneshot)

Ardath: You know you could just repost it without the lyrics, right?

Roy: Can you do that?

Link: Hey, we should probably stick with this story. Since Ardath destroyed the phone, we couldn't get anyone to come over and be our "special guest" for today, so we just got this cute little kitty to be our special guest! Give it up for 'Zumi the cat!

Zumi: Mrrow!

Fox: I think she want's you to let her go.

Marth: Link, be nice to the cat. I swear...

Ardath: Marth, don't swear. There's a KITTY in the room!

Marth: ...

Roy: Will someone just disclaim already?

Zumi: Meow, rrow, mrrow rrrrow. meow?

Fox: Aru doesn't own squat.Chicken?

All: Onward to Chapter 6!

* * *

**Chapter 6: Recall: Found and Lost**

Roy blinked, tears forming in his eyes. There she was. But something was wrong. Very wrong. Like Ness, Katan's hair had turned snow white, her eyes silver. There was something missing as well from her eyes, something important.

"Ah, my White Riders. Well done today, you sure gave those bandits a surprise. Go tell Cookie you all deserve a treat from me." The man, who seemed to be the leader, told Katan, Ness, and Pichu. "As for the rest of you… I suppose you'll need some explaining. Follow me. Oh, and my name is Phoenix, but everyone calls me Nix." The man turned and walked into the tents that had seemingly sprung up from the ground.

Roy looked to Samus, confusion written across his face. She frowned. "I'll explain. Just follow along."

They followed Nix, Samus and Marth with interlaced hands, Roy hurt and confused, and Fox, Falco, Link, Zelda, and Young Link just amazed. They came to a tent. Inside, someone had set up a fold out desk and some chairs. A man stood outside the entrance like a guard. Nix motioned for them to enter before speaking to the man in a hushed tone. The man nodded and disappeared into the maze of tents.

Once they were all seated, Nix started. "Well, first off, you're now on Desert. It's a magical place, actually. You see, I died about fifteen years ago in battle. I was a general, fighting with a dangerous enemy. A stray arrow found its way into my armor, and I died immediately. Sometimes, when one is murdered, whether in battle or in cold blood, they reappear here on Desert. Then, there are those who find the most intriguing ways to get here on desert without dying. The side effect is memory loss."

Roy's eyes widened. "You mean…"

Samus intervened. "Yes. Katan, Ness, and Pichu lost their memory. Not only that, but something in the way they were sent here messed with their hair and eye color, causing them to look the way they do now. Those who arrive here who loose their memory are cast out by the Empire, where we pick them up, and put them in teams called "Rider Squads." Our three are the White Riders, the best there are."

Nix nodded, watching Roy sit back in his chair, looking like he had been punched in the stomach. Before he could talk, there was a polite cough at the door flap. A small wolf poked its head in.

"Ah, come in Captain." Nix called. A man entered, along with the wolf. He had mahogany brown hair and amethyst purple eyes. He wore a simple beige cloak and a light green robe with a cloth belt and sandals. The wolf was russet colored with azure eyes that showed the look of battles won and lost from long ago. A long thin scar ran along its hip, barely visible through the russet fur.

"Sir Nix. Come in, you rascals." The man called back through the tent flap. Katan, Ness, and Pichu entered. Pichu was licking his fingers; content with what ever he had just eaten. They took a seat on the sandy floor, the man remaining on his feet.

"My friends, this is my friend and Captain, Izu, and his wolf friend Amina. They were killed in battle as well."

"Not really." Izu replied. "Amina was; but I was killed with poison. Remember? The poisoned sword my father stabbed me with."

"Ah, that's right." Nix sat back as the others gasped, except Roy, who was staring at Katan.

"Now, White Riders, come to attention." Nix ordered. They scrambled to their feet and saluted. "Tell me, do you remember any of these people?"

"No…" Ness started. "I already told you; all I remember is I have psychic powers and my name is Ness."

"They kind of look familiar." Pichu squeaked. "But like Ness said; all I really remember is I can control lightning and I'm Pichu."

Katan shook her head, her hair glimmering. "Nothing. Except a promise."

Something went off inside Roy's head. Why did that remind him of something important… A promise? Nothing came to his head. He was still overcome with grief at Katan's loss of memory.

"Alright. You're dismissed." Nix sighed. They saluted again and bounced out of the tent like kids. (A/N Then again, Ness and Pichu are kids…)

There was an uneasy silence in the tent. Nix sat forward in his chair, knitting his hands together. "I suppose you'll need some shelter. Those transporters of yours aren't going to be getting you out with the gravitational pull of this planet. We have our own city, named Home. It's about a day's march from here, but it will leave everyone exhausted. I'm going to send out patrols to find the remaining bandits, and then we'll leave. You'd best come with us, as we have a well. You won't survive long on Desert without water."

Link nodded. "Hard to think we just left Hyrule, where we got soaking wet." He mumbled. Most everyone could hear the pity in his voice.

"Sir, they can share a tent with me." Samus offered. "I think I can explain everything else to them the best."

"Yes, go ahead Samus. Remember, we're leaving first light tomorrow." Nix waved them off. Without another word, Samus led the way out of the tent.

Zelda and Link led Roy out by the arm, as he didn't make a move at all. "Roy, it's alright. It can't be permanent." Zelda told him worriedly. "I've seen soldiers suffer the worst head injuries, forget everything, then gain it back. She's bound to remember you."

"Zelly's right." Samus turned her head. "For most, the amnesia usually lasts about seven years before they remember."

Marth frowned. "It's only been-" Fox cuffed Marth.

"Don't say that." Fox hissed.

"Yeah, but still…" Roy finally spoke. "It's only been three years. And you said most."

Silence fell over the group. Samus led them to the far reaches of the camp, to a solitary tent. Inside were several cots, a table, and several packs. A motorbike sat outside, covered with dust and sand.

"Welcome to the White Tent." Samus pulled the entrance flap up to let fresh air in. Young Link, Zelda, and Roy sat down on the cots, the others taking a seat on the floor. Fox remained standing, and leaned against the sturdy tent pole, crossing his arms.

"So what's going on in the outside?" Samus asked as she took a seat next to Marth. She passed a water canteen around.

"Trouble. A new threat has come up. I think it has something to do with Luan and Eula's Master." Marth started as he took a swig of the water. It was cool and refreshing, which was a surprise for being in the middle of a giant desert.

"Eula's master?" Samus blinked.

"Oh, well… Remember how Luan shot you?" Link asked. Samus looked a bit hurt, but nodded. "Well, apparently, he was being controlled by Eula, the weapon store owner."

"Eula? He was so nice too… What happened after I died?" Samus asked.

"Marth stabbed Luan in the head." Link replied. Samus gave Marth a look of surprise.

"Yeah, I know who's not going to like that…" Marth replied.

"Oh, then Katan blew up Nintendo with this bright light thing. The countries became their own planets, and we were parted for three years." Fox finally spoke. "That was when Master Hand contacted us and Kirby so we could gather the remaining smashers to confront Eula's 'master.'"

Falco then jumped in. "Fox and I found Roy and Marth first. We were a bit confused when we heard that Katan wasn't there. But Roy told us what had transpired, then we headed off to Hyrule."

"Then Zelda tried to get us all killed trying to take Hyrule from the Wireframes. I think we barely managed to escape them. I just hope the others are all right…" Young Link added. Zelda flushed and cuffed Young Link over the head.

"You guys were the ones who agreed with me in the first place!" Zelda retorted, a fake hurt look on her face.

Young Link ignored her and looked to Roy. He was asleep on the cot, a frown on his face. "Hey, Roy's asleep."

"Let him be." Zelda told the young smasher. "He's having a hard day."

"Poor Roy." Marth frowned at his friend. "At least you have your memory, Sammy."

"Yeah, you should have seen Marth moping around like he was waiting for death to take him. He didn't smile once before we got here." Fox grinned. "And what Roy told me was he didn't smile at all for those three years."

"Heh… I was sad!" Marth tried to stand up for himself. Samus wrapped her arm around him.

"Well, I'm here now, and you're smiling again. That's all that counts. It would be a perfect day if only Katan had her memory."

The group went quiet, each thinking of the old days, when they were all happy. Zelda's eyes began to get teary, and she began to cry into Link's tunic. Even if they were partly together, this was a living nightmare.

Suddenly, a gust of wind picked up, throwing the tent flap from its position. A figure stood in its place, staring in.

"Oh, come in dear." Samus called. The figure entered, revealing the wide eyed Katan. She blinked, looking a bit ashamed of herself.

"Why… why are you crying?" she asked Zelda. "I… I didn't do anything bad, did I?"

Zelda wiped her tears away. "No, no, dear Katan, you didn't. I was just… reminiscing."

"Oh." Katan looked lost.

"Come and sit down, Katan." Samus patted the empty spot next to her. Marth nodded to her, looking a bit ashamed himself.

Katan did as she was told and sat down. Roy moaned on the cot and turned onto his side facing the tent canvas. She looked at the faces around her.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember…" she started. Fox held his hand to his mouth.

"Don't worry, Kat. I'm your old friend Fox." He grinned at her.

"Falco, at your service, Milady." Falco bowed his head.

"I'm your old buddy Link." Link nodded.

"And I'm his younger form, Young Link! I was one of the first people to see you sword fight!" Young Link grinned with a child's vigor.

"I'm Zelda. I hung out with you a lot and gave you some advice." Zelda winked.

"Heh, Marth." Marth averted his eyes nervously as she looked at him.

"And who is he?" Katan pointed to Roy. Silence met her. Finally, Samus spoke up.

"Katan, I'm going to tell you right now. You must remember his name the most out of all of us. He is Roy. In the past, when we were all together and you still had your memory… He was… well… the closest person to you." Samus told her.

Katan looked in shock at him. "The closest person to me? But…"

"I'm sorry, Katan, but you're the kind of person that can't be worried. I shouldn't have said anything." Samus wrapped her arm around the young girl.

"I thought…" Katan began to cry. Zelda scooted over to her side and wrapped her arms around the girl as well. Roy again turned in his sleep, fidgeting every so often.

They sat in silence until Katan stopped crying. Fox looked outside and saw that the sky was dark already. "Why is it dark so early?" he asked.

"Night takes up about three fourths of the day during this season. But the days can be cruel. Today was actually the record low."

"Oh boy." Falco shook his head.

"I'm hungry." Young Link complained to his older self and Marth. Link shushed him.

"It's probably close to meal time anyways. Come on, Katan, let's go ahead. You guys can get Roy up, if its possible." Samus helped her charge up. "Katan, where are Ness and Pichu?"

"With Captain." Katan told her.

"Right. I'll send the Captain over to escort you guys to the meal area." Samus told them. Marth stood up.

"Wait, I'll come with you." Marth offered.

"No. Roy will need you now, Marth." Samus told him sternly. Then her face softened. "We'll only be on the other side of the camp."

Marth twitched, before sighing in defeat. "If you say so… Just… Don't disappear on me."

Samus chuckled, then disappeared through the tent door. Katan looked back, a worried expression on her face, the she too disappeared through. The group looked at each other. But there wasn't much they could do to mend a broken heart.

* * *

Roy: You're so mean. Making everyone cry.

Well soooorry.

Link: That was vaguely... interesting.

Marth: I agree. I get to be happy now! (dances)

Fox: Whoa! (Get's tripped over by Marth)

Ardath: Dimwits.

Pichu: Review! It makes us happy!


	7. Travel: Promise Unbroken

Holy crap guys, look who's back!

Roy: Whoooooaaaaa

Link: Miracles DO happen!

Marth: I think I just crapped myself

Fox: ...!

Now go enjoy the very much delayed story!

* * *

**Chapter 7: **

Silence reigned in the tent. Today should have been happy beyond belief, having been reunited with the lost four, but it wasn't has happy an occasion as it should have been. Finally, Marth and Zelda gently shook Roy's shoulder to wake him. None of them had eaten for days. Link shivered, remembering the storm on the plains back in Hyrule, the last time food was mentioned. He dearly hoped Saria, Malon, Talon, and Navi had gotten to safety.

Roy rose, a look of hope flashing across his face momentarily, but his face darkened into a frown as he recognized his surroundings. "What?"

"You need to eat. None of us have eaten for days, and it's important that we get some sustenance." Zelda scolded him gently.

Roy scowled darkly, but got up nonetheless. The smashers ditched their armor, almost immediately relieved of the heat that was left as the sun hung low in the sky. After a short wait, they picked up a voice.

"…I'm sure they're just fine. Ardath should be queen now, and is probably taking good care of her. Oh… Good point, she probably went off with that griffin rider…" after a moment's silence, Izu stuck his head in through the tent flap. "Food, anyone?"

Young Link barreled into Izu. "Yes food!" there was a sharp bark and a yelp as Izu's wolf took this as an attack on her friend, but Young Link had backed off fast enough that no harm was done.

"Young Link!" Zelda cried, disappearing through the flap with Link on her heels. Roy and Marth followed more slowly, Fox and Falco behind them.

"S-sorry mister." Young Link was apologizing to Izu, who had a look of disdain on his features.

"No problem kid. Just be more careful." Izu finally stated before turning to Zelda. "Follow me, if you would."

Without waiting, Izu and Amina turned heel and walked away, causing the smashers to hurry to keep up with their unusually long pace. They wove their way through the mass of tents back to Nix's tent. Inside, another table had been set up, with food set out in crude lightweight bowls. Samus, Katan, Pichu, and Ness were already seated, Katan blank faced and Samus looking worried. Nix stood behind the 'White Riders,' a concerned look on his rough features as well.

The Smashers entered and were quickly seated. Nix motioned for them to eat. "We've plenty, and you guys look half starved. The majority of the smashers fell on their food like ravenous wolves. Roy merely stared at his food until Zelda threatened to force feed him. He still ate with a detached look. Ness, Pichu, and Katan didn't touch their food as well, though Nix seemed to understand this and not attempt to force them to eat.

Throughout dinner, Roy felt like he was being tortured. Katan sat near him; how he wanted to take her in his arms, to taste her lips again… But she wasn't the Katan she used to be, if she ever would be. Finally, Nix dismissed the three, seeing as they weren't going to touch their food.

"So… What… Exactly does a rider squad deal thing do?" Link ventured to ask.

Nix visibly relaxed. "Well, as I said earlier, riders are the unlucky ones that figure out a way to get here, but loose their memory as a result." Nix sat down where Ness had been a moment before. "But, all of these memory-less arrivals have an uncanny talent in leading attacks. A distraction, if you will. All rider squads are separated into color groups, depending on what their hair and eye color are. Currently, there are four squads: Your own White Squad, more popularly known as the white riders, then there's the Blue Squad, the Green Squad, and the Red Squad, listed in population size, with White Being the smallest and most talented."

The Smashers took this in. "So you get quite a few of those who lost their memory then." Marth commented.

"Unfortunately, yes. Each squad is given the materials they need. Sand bikes, or motorbikes as you would call them, gear, weapons, whatever they need." Nix sat back. "One squad is always at Home in case of an emergency, and its usually the Red Squad, due to their larger size. Meanwhile, due to their, well, lack of memory, each squad has a general looking after them." Nix nodded his head at Samus. "White Squad has Samus."

"Well, how does this whole… battalion work then?" Falco asked.

"Well, it works as in there's an attack leader, like myself. Then there's three captains, you've already met Izu, one of my captains. Under the captains, there's two generals per captain, unlike your normal ranks. Samus here is under Captain Fallon, who first found Samus, Katan, Ness, and Pichu." Nix paused a moment, then continued. "Finally, each captain has a major under them. Captain Fallon was only a major when he found the four. Then there's the normal soldier, which a majority of the camp is made up of. Finally, in their own ranks, there are medics and cooks. The lead medic is a doctor, then nurses, and aids, and in the cooking field, the lead cook is called Cookie, and the Chef, and the rest of the cooks."

"Wow." Fox commented.

They asked questions for a little while longer, before the smashers excused themselves for a good nights rest. Their uncomfortable, yet restful night in the little cave seemed to be so long ago…

Morning came all too swiftly. The night had been strange, without the worry of being attacked by bandits or Wireframes. Roy had slept through the night, his dreams dark and unusual. At one point, his mind had replayed the moment that Samus had been shot, Luan and the old man-What was his name? Eula, that was the old man's name- had been stabbed by the enraged and distraught Marth, and the white light, swallowing them in a white Christmas. They had each woken up in their own worlds after that, cut off from one another for what seemed like an eternity. But it was only three years.

When Roy awoke, the sun still hadn't risen, but daybreak wasn't far off. Rising and stretching, Roy saw his comrades in various parts of the tent. Marth was on the floor next to Samus, hands still entwined (How Roy found himself in envy of them!), Link sitting in a corner with his Master Sword propped against his shoulder. Zelda had her head resting on Link's lap and in a spoon shape around the ball of green that was Young Link. Fox and Falco were nowhere to be seen. A long white braid was hanging from a hammock, and a white ear poking up at the end of the Hammock with a baseball cap hanging on one of the hooks. This was where Katan, Pichu, and Ness were fast asleep. Katan was murmuring in her sleep, which left Roy in a heartbroken heap.

"Lu… Lu…" She would repeat. Roy had to turn away to keep himself from going to her aid.

Suddenly, an orange furred head poked in. "Roy?" Fox whispered. "Want some breakfast?"

Roy nodded, not realizing how hungry he was. He slowly made his way to the door, stepping over Marth and Samus's prone forms. With one last wistful glance back at the hammock, he made his way outside.

Despite the heat from the day before, the morning air was cool and crisp. The horizon was dyed deep ochre red, with the lighter shades of pink following close behind. Only a handful of the twinkling stars were left, blinking out their good days to the rising sun. The camp itself was already busy. Tents were being broken down, preparing for the journey to the capital rebel city, Home. Roy watched the various people working away, folding tent canvases into smaller bundles, rolling up hammocks, folding cots, and then loading them onto the backs of large lizard-like creatures, who's rough yellow skin matched perfectly with the sand.

"Come on this way." Fox called back, already disappearing into the silent chaos of camp breaking. Roy hurried after, hearing someone stirring in the tent. Who it was, he didn't know.

The fox and swordsman weaved their way carefully through the maze of tents, both still standing and being-broken-down states. They soon reached a flat large tent with people hurrying in and out. Enticing smells drifted from the tent, making Roy's stomach growl hungrily. Fox paused at the entrance for Roy to catch up.

"They have some really good food, for not having a lot of ingredients for good food around here." Fox commented to Roy before entering. Roy entered, curious now as to breakfast.

There were five long tables and benches that seemed to be formed of hardened sand. Several large pots sat over small beds of coals to keep warm, though several coal beds had already been dowsed with sand. Using water was too dangerous, what with steam and the chance of dehydration in the desert. A couple homely women were ladling out bowls to the soldiers as they came and went. Roy couldn't help but notice scars. He thought about how everyone here had already died once. Did that mean that they had died too?

How were they supposed to get off this planet?

"Come on now." Fox coughed, bringing Roy back from his reverie. They approached the women, and soon had nice bowls of soup. As they ate, Falco joined them, and soon Link, Samus, Young Link, and Marth entered. After getting some soup themselves, the smashers were once again, reunited. Or almost.

"Where's Zelda?" Fox asked through a mouthful of soup.

"Getting her arm checked out. There's a healer, but not with skills like Zel's." Link replied between his own mouthfuls of the delicious soup.

Suddenly, a strange whistling sound loudly made its presence, followed by a booming version of Nix's voice; a loudspeaker. "ALL RIDER SQUADS AND THEIR GENERALS REPORT TO HEAD TENT."

"That's me." Samus bowed her head, then exited the tent, putting her bowl in a large container filled with many other dirty bowls for being cleaned upon return. Marth watched with a frown as she disappeared.

Soon, a man approached the group. His features were almost wolfish in a way, yet human at the same time. "Are you the Smashers?" he asked, his voice young and raspy.

"Yeah." Fox, the unspoken leader of the smashers at the moment, stood up.

"I'm Captain Fallon, and Nix asked me to fetch you." Looking over the group, he frowned. "There's one missing."

"And accounted for." Came Zelda's voice. She approached from the entrance, her arm splinted and hung for support from her neck.

"right. Follow me, please, and I'll get you your lizars." He turned quickly. "Leave your bowls in the containers. They'll be properly cleaned when we've returned to Home."

The Smashers followed his instructions. "Are lizars those lizard things?" Young Link asked.

"Yes, sir." Fallon replied. "A brilliant man just took the d out of lizard and named them that." He kept such a serious face on that the smashers almost wondered if he was being serious, but he finally cracked a grin.

It turned out that lizars came in different colors; the tan lizars were strongest, yet slow, and therefore used for transporting goods. White lizars meanwhile were the fastest, with grey being in the middle. On rare occasion, there were black lizars. These were reserved for leaders and captains, due to their amazing speed and strength. Each of the smashers were given a white lizar for usage during their time in Desert. Lizars were basically Desert's version of a horse, or perhaps a camel, but due to their reptilian ways, they were tiresome to ride.

Leading their lizars back to the tent, Zelda gave a cry of dismay as they found their tent in shambles. Samus looked up before saluting Fallon. "Your stuff is over there, dear." She quickly told Zelda, pointing to what belongings they had brought from the wreckages. Nearby, Katan, Ness, and Pichu were busy inspecting their Sand Bike. A dark grey lizar sat nearby, while a tan lizar was closer, already carrying a bit of the tent stuff.

The smashers threw their feeble belongings onto the strange saddles on their lizars' backs, and were ready as the last of the tent was packed away. Soon, no tents were left standing, only their sandy supports. Nix sat on top of a very tall black lizar on a hill where all the soldiers were gathering with their pack lizars. With a quick inspection of the deserted campground, Nix gave a cry like that of a hawk, and with a swipe of his hand, caused all the sand supports to collapse, covering whatever remained of the campground.

"Wow." Falco whistled. "That's pretty impressive."

The rider squads were assembled near Nix. With a wave, they took off, the fore guard of the assembled battalion. And with that, they moved off.

By the time Home was in view, the short yet blazing day had recently disappeared on the horizon, though the nearly unbearable heat still lingered. Link couldn't remember ever being so tired in his whole life, other than in the tournaments back when he was an official smasher, and they'd had daily melees going on. Looking at his friends, he observed their tired selves. Fox, due to his fur, was looking more and more like a sun burnt dog, his tongue lolling, drool dripping every once in a while. Falco was on the opposite spectrum. Being an avian, the heat had less an effect on him, but his legs were probably numb with soreness. Zelda looked like she could kill someone; Young Link looked dead on his lizar. Marth had long since adjusted himself and gone to sleep, while Samus, having long ago adjusted to Desert Life, was doing fine. Roy was totally unaffected by the heat. If he weren't having a moment of heartbreak, he probably would have been prospering in the heat. But with the combination of lizar riding, his emotional status, and the unwelcome heat, he looked worse off then Young Link and Zelda put together.

Link hadn't seen a single one of the three memory-less 'riders' as Katan, Ness, and Pichu were now known. Looking over at Roy, he felt a stab of sympathy. Then he thought a bit more. _Roy should be helping them try to regain their memory, not just moping around…_ Link shrugged to himself, and returned his thoughts to staying on his lizar. The lizars were very much like horses, each with a personality all their own.

Another stab; Link thought of Epona. He hoped she was okay. And everyone back on Hyrule.

A whistle blew somewhere. It was soft, and Link almost thought he didn't hear it. Looking around, he waited to see what he was supposed to do. But the lizars carried on their monotonous travel across the slowly cooling sand.

Suddenly, there was a scream, then explosion. A large figure darted through the sky.

"Bandits!" came a cry. Without a word, Link drew his bow, aiming for the sky-borne creature. He then paused; what if it was an ally?

Sand flew everywhere as an explosion came from nearby. More screams of mortal pain. Then abruptly, the winged creature landed, and Link knew that this creature was not friendly.

The creature looked like a winged lizar, its scales gleaming coldly. A blast of familiar light brightened the scene momentarily as Samus let off a blast from her gun. Swords drawn, Roy and Marth were already off on lizar back, slashing quickly. A light colored figure detached itself from the panicking soldiers as Katan came to aid in the battle, Pichu and Ness right behind her.

Link charged after them as well, noticing Roy's moment of hesitation. Pushing his lizar on, he carefully balanced himself, and was soon vertical, standing carefully on the spine of his lizar as it charged with an angry hiss. A spear jabbed at him from the winged creature's back.

"The Empire requires you to surrender, fools!" the human on the back of the creature cackled. Several more winged creatures screamed overheads, landing in the panicking, yet self-organizing mob of soldiers. Link launched himself onto the winged creature's head, only to successfully get himself launched through the air. A current of air caught him; Zelda had caught him with her magic.

Link was soon back on his feet, so he dashed helter skelter through the crowd back to the beast, but by the time he got back, Katan, Roy, Marth, and Samus had the rider captured, Pichu and Ness holding the beast in a paralyzed state. Marth grinned over at Link, though Link could now barely make out his face in the failed light.

"So, I've decided, you make an excellent distraction, Link." Marth called. Link coughed at him, sending Marth inching as far away as he could without letting the man up. Link immediately got down and helped hold the man using his heavier body to keep the man pinned.

"You will not escape with this!" The man managed to snarl through the sand. He abruptly shoved against Marth and Link, loosening a hand. Marth scrambled to regain the hand, but it was soon under the man. "Later, Rebel scum."

Samus screamed a warning, but it was too late. An explosion sent Link and Marth flying like two dust rags in the wind. Zelda managed to catch Link again, but Marth was too far for her to catch.

Suddenly, a large web of air caught and held Marth. Ness concentrated hard, holding Marth up until Samus could get to his aid.

"Marth!"

Samus held Marth's head in her hand. "Oh Marth, don't leave me now!"

Link meanwhile, was nearly fried to a crisp, but was just fine; as Zelda quickly healed his injuries as well as she could with only one hand. They hurried over to Samus and Marth, as did Katan, Ness, Pichu, and Young Link. Roy held back a moment, but was soon there at his best friend's side. Fox and Falco were no where to be seen.

"Please Marth, don't leave me." Samus cried softly.

Marth mumbled something. Samus squinted, trying to understand. "What?" More mumbling. "Marth, speak louder, I don't understand…"

"Your squishing my hand." He mumbled louder. Samus moved her knee, revealing Marth's hand. He sighed and was silent.

"Marth?"

"I'm not dying, if that's what you're wondering." Marth stated, a grin creeping on his face.

Samus gave a cry of relief, hugging her swordsman to near death. The rest of the group gave a sigh of relief. While Zelda and Samus watched over Marth, the rest of the watchers returned their gaze to the winged beast. It returned their gaze with a hiss, scratching its claws in the dirt.

"Is it a dragon?" Link asked.

"No, a wyvern." Katan stated simply. She slowly walked forward, talking softly in a language no one had heard before. No one except Roy.

"She's speaking dragonese." Roy gasped quietly.

"What?" Link and Young Link looked at him. But they returned their gazes as Katan expertly approached the wyvern and was soon sitting in the saddle. The wyvern took to the sky, and soon disappeared to where a single other wyvern was still fighting.

"My god…" Ness squeaked. Link turned his gaze to the young psychic and gasped. Ness's hair was no longer white, his eyes no longer silver. Rather, he looked the exact same he had on Christmas Eve, only three years older.

"Ness…!" came Samus's gasp. Ness looked about.

"I… I… Remember everything!" he gave a whoop of joy. Roy looked around, and sure enough, a yellow mouse poke'mon was looking about, a look of amazed confusion on his face.

"What?" Pichu squeaked. "Wait… What?"

Roy scooped Pichu up in his arms. "But how?" he couldn't help but ask.

"It was you guys, and the shock of battle." Ness had already analyzed the situation. "Somehow, that released the block on our memories!"

"It was so strange, knowing everything inside, yet not being able to express it!" Pichu squeaked again.

Roy's heart soared. Another explosion brought the group out of their amazed shock. "We've a battle to take care of guys." Marth complained. He tried to stand, but Samus shoved him down. "Sammy?"

"We have a battle. You and Zelly are injured." Samus whistled, her grey lizar loping to their side from in the battle. Its mouth was covered with blood from fighting. Samus helped Marth onto its back while Zelda climbed on her own lizar. "Stay together please, you're in no condition to fight." Samus pleaded with Marth.

"Yes, dearest Sammy." Marth gave her a quick kiss, and the grounded smashers struck out, new hope in their hearts.

_We'll be together soon, Katan. I promised. _Roy thought, giving a battle cry as they dove back into the melee. "I promise!"

* * *

Soooo? I hope that a year wasn't toooo much of a wait?

Marth: Are you crazy woman? Of course its a long wait! And its almost been two years, geesh.

Roy: Heeey, at least she did update?

Fox: Can't argue with that.

Link: This typing thing is getting really annoying, you know.

I know, I know, I wish it would go away. Like now.

Fox: Review, She's on a role!


	8. Realization: Welcome Back and Farewell

Awww, come on, doesn't anyone want to review this?

Roy: You're late in returning, I would guess.

Marth: Too bad for you!

Link: So, I hear good things are coming up?

Yes yes! I have another story idea in the making! Alas, I won't start it until after this story is complete.

Roy: Yeah?

Yep. Now, someone needs to disclaim already!

Marth and Link: She doesn't own. Duh, or There would still be Fire Emblemers in Brawl. Besides Ike

Now go read!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Realization: Welcome Back and Fare Thee Well!**

* * *

"So who exactly are we fighting?" Link quickly asked Samus before a lizar leapt over his head, the huge clawed feet barely missing his head. The hylian immediately shot an arrow after its scaly hide. 

"The Empire." Samus explained calmly, shooting an oncoming soldier before he could attack her with his own bayonet. "They make random attacks on Home when possible."

Young Link had his sword out, nervously wielding it against any oncoming lizars or anything that attempted to attack him. The Empire had large cats, trained for battle, in their ranks. A soldier stumbled by the group before being leapt upon by a flash of orange spotted fur.

Samus was all over the cat quickly with her gun. Soon, the cat's scorched body was stretched out upon the ground. "Be careful guys!" She called.

Roy had his entire focus on the area of the battle where a single wyvern was air borne; it struck out with its ferocious talons, whipping its horn-studded tail in another direction, with fatalities everywhere. It screamed its defiance at the grounded soldiers, who seemed to cower in its wake, in spite of the beast's former alliance with the Empiric Soldiers.

"ROY!" someone shouted. He returned to himself in time to spot a soldier about to stab him with a long curved bayonet. He threw his sword up and managed to save himself from serious injury, though the bayonet bounced and sliced into his sword arm. With a gasp of pain, Roy went to finish off the man, only for the man to fall onto him, an arrow sticking out of his back.

"You okay?" Link called, shouldering his bow and redrawing his sword.

"Yeah, just a scratch." Roy quickly swung at another oncoming soldier. After finishing off several more soldiers, Roy's arm was going numb, and he groaned. This was bad. The worst thing to happen to a swordsman was to loose control over his sword arm. Though he had slightly trained in left-armed combat using a sword, he hadn't trained enough to be effective for more than a few minutes.

"Need help?" Pichu shot off the body of another soldier and landed on his shoulder. With a shock from the baby mouse, the feeling returned slightly to Roy's sword arm, but not without a jolt of pain.

"Thanks Pichu." Roy hissed between gritted teeth. Pichu gave him an apologizing look, and shocked an oncoming soldier, slightly shocking Roy as well. _He_does_ seem to have better control over his attacks…_ Roy thought, swinging clumsily at an oncoming soldier.

Soon, the overwhelmed soldiers of Home began to retreat to the safety of the city, the wounded being quickly loaded onto lizars. Several dark shadows sailed over the battlefield, the colors of the desert people painted onto the wide wings of the wyverns as a wyvern brigade covered the retreat to Home, but they were soon engaged by another brigade of the Empiric Wyverns, screeches and shrieks frightening both the retreating Homian soldiers and the Empiric soldiers. Katan and her new wyvern were no where to be spotted.

"Roy! Hurry!" Fox called from the gate as Roy wearily stumbled forward, fresh soldiers covering the retreat while another wyverns brigade dropped what looked like bombs from the air on the Empiric soldiers. Pichu urged him on as well, its ears swiveling in fear and shock. Both were covered with blood, Pichu having taken a gunshot to his tail and a bayonet slice to the side and his left paw, Roy having both arms cut from bayonets and a gunshot as well to his sword arm.

"Fox!" Roy called out gratefully. Ignoring his own pain, he stumbled forward, ignoring the blurring at the corners of his vision. The orange vulpine himself was injured, with cuts and bruises covering his arms. His nose now sported a bloody gash of its own, and one ear had a v-shaped split.

"Hurry inside Roy, they're going to close the gate once everyone's inside. You'd better get yourself healed as well." Fox pushed him into the city with a quick glance. He didn't even notice Pichu.

"Fox! Its good to see you again!" Pichu squeaked, still holding his tiny tail. Fox gawked, doing a double-take.

"Pichu! You regained your memory?" Fox grinned. "No time for catching up, I'm afraid. Now go, follow the rest of the soldiers. I'll wait for the others."

"Who's already back?" Roy called to Fox, but the vulpine had already disappeared into the growing crowd of wounded and unwounded soldiers.

Turning, the flame-headed swordsman stumbled along, not able to see very well anymore, as spots began to fill his vision, blurring everything else. Roy felt far away from himself and could only watch as the ground rushed up to meet his vision. As he drifted into his dark unconscious state, he could hear Pichu calling, as everything else went blank.

"…_Hit his head. Is he going to_…"

"…_Kind of hungry, how about you? Let's go get_…"

"…I think he's waking up!"

Roy's head swam. He'd been drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness for however long. He couldn't move, and even if he could, he felt he'd puke if he tried.

"Hurry, go get Doctor Mario!"

Roy blinked awake, bright white light filling his vision.

"Roy?" Link's face filled his vision. "You feeling okay now?"

"What… happened?" Roy asked groggily. Last thing he remembered, he had been trying to find help… he was bleeding from the arm…

"You fell down the stairs. You got a bit drunk last night." Link commented. "Nearly took Katan down with you. Good thing Samus was there to save her, you might have squished her, you great lump!"

"…What…?" Sitting up, Roy realized he was in the Hospital Wing at the Smash Mansion. "What… How the…?"

Link stared at him. "What?"

"What's today?"

"Christmas."

"What happened yesterday?"

"Christmas Eve? You know, the party. You and Katan won cutest couple… Don't you remember?" Link looked alarmed.

"Ah, Roy." Before Link or Roy could say anything, Doctor Mario stepped in, Marth behind him. "How are you feeling?" he asked, ignoring Link's worried gaze.

"Confused."

"Confused? How?" The doctor pulled out a clipboard to take notes. Link almost seemed to sigh with relief as the doctor questioned the flame-headed boy.

"I… Guess I had the strangest dream…" Roy replied. "That… The Smash Mansion was blown up, and the rest of the world, and all the kingdoms and other places split into individual worlds…" Roy began to go into detail about Samus's death, the three years spent before Fox and Falco came to get Roy and Marth from their mourning grounds, their attempt to save Hyrule, and their short time in Desert. "You're telling me none of this happened…?" He looked between the three and paused on Marth, who had taken a seat in a chair.

"Oh, but it did." Marth said, standing up. To Roy's horror, his body began to melt until he became Luan, pointing his gun directly at Roy. He shot the gun, but it missed. A scream came forth, and Roy re-witnessed the death of Samus. He felt a pain in his arm as he turned to see Link biting down on his arm, where he had been stabbed. Only Link suddenly became a wyvern, its eyes staring at him crazily.

Roy sat up, sweat pouring down his face. "Sit still you!" Zelda cried. Roy looked around. A tent, Zelda was wearing Desert Garb, and a familiar figure sat in the corner, sleeping.

"Katan!" Roy cried, ignoring Zelda's gasp of alarm.

"Roy, careful! Your arm!" Zelda grabbed it to keep the wound from re-opening.

Katan stirred, her blue eyes opening wide in alarm. She sat up so fast that her stool fell over, taking her with it. "Roy!"

"Katan!" Roy felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. There she was, the Katan he knew. She scampered over to him and threw her arms around him.

"I missed you so much!" She cried, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Katan!" Zelda barked sharply, bringing the girl back to her senses.

"Oh, are you alright?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"I'm too happy to be in pain!" a wide grin spread across his face. She smiled in return while Zelda gave an exasperated sigh of relief.

"Well, sounds like Roy's awake." Young Link called, leaving his post by the tent where Roy had been. Link and Marth paused in their dueling, twin grins spreading across their faces.

"Well, wait a moment, let Katan get herself resituated." Samus called sharply as the three went to greet their fiery friend.

"Aw, but Roy's been sleeping for days." Link pouted a moment before grinning. "But I guess you're right."

"Hey, what's up?" Fox appeared from between two large adobe mud buildings. His arms were no longer covered in blood, but scabs had formed all over them. His nose too contained a thick scar that was lathered with a non-itch salve. From behind him emerged Falco, who had his wings crossed and a grin on his… beak.

"Roy-Boy woke up. We're waiting for Sammy to let us go visit him." Marth crossed his arms, a look of distaste on his face, as though he had just been forced to eat his vegetables. He then winked at Samus, who shook her head, a smile on her face.

"Well, looks like you won't have to wait any longer." Falco spoke, his gruff voice causing everyone to look at him. "What, I have a sore throat. It's sandy and dry. Anyways." He pointed towards the tent that acted as hospital as a familiar redhead limped out, Zelda and Katan at his sides.

Link grinned. He remembered limping into the city a ways behind Roy, dragging Ness along as the boy held off a large portion of the Empire for the retreat of the soldiers of Home. As they were a few of the last ones in, Link watched the reinforced gate slam as the last of the live Homian soldiers got to safety. Ness dropped the paralyzing shield, gasping in shock as the connection snapped.

"I… Did… It…" Ness huffed.

"LINK!" A pair of slim arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind. At first, he thought it was Zelda, only to remember that Zelda's arm was wrapped and splinted. Craning his head, he spotted the familiar black hair and a blue eye.

"Katan!?" A wide smile covered his face as the young swordswoman released the hylian, who in turn, hugged her before doing a very short dance of joy.

"Where's Roy?" She asked, looking around worriedly.

"I don't know. He was injured, so he should…"

"Link!" Falco rushed up. "Roy's badly injured. Is that Ness? Is he ok- Katan!" Katan had dashed passed Falco, determined to find the injured Roy. Link had merely smiled, before he thought.

"How bad?"

That had been a week ago. Roy had slept deeply for a week, recovering slowly but surely. Ness too had been sleeping deeply until a few days prior. Now he was with Pichu and Nix as they oversaw the mass burial of their soldiers and friends. A captain had been lost, as well as two generals. Captain Izu had suffered a broken arm, and was forbidden from doing anything but overseeing the battle that had ended finally two days earlier.

Now, Roy stumbled forward, Katan and Zelda neatly balancing him. Young Link quickly grabbed a padded stool, where Zelda made Roy sit. Katan stood by his side, once again taking on her shy personality. It was all too good to be true, having the three missing Smashers and the previously dead Samus back. Greetings quickly took place before business got underhand.

"I guess… We need to get in touch with another smasher to get out of here… if we can." Fox grumbled. "The gravity pull is so great…"

"I'm sure a ship could get out." Samus spoke up. Ness and Pichu appeared abruptly. They were both smiling sadly, not used to having to bury so many.

"Nix will be joining us shortly." Ness spoke, pulling out his trusty yo-yo.

"No, I'll be joining now." Nix, Izu, and Amina the wolf followed the two from the same direction. Izu sported a splint on his right arm and a new scar across his cheek while his wolf looked at the gathered Smashers, her eyes daring them to attack Izu. Nix looked to the gathered smashers. "I suppose you will soon be leaving." A hard look crossed his face.

"Yes sir." Katan spoke up. The three who had previously lost their memories had regained them, keeping the memories they had made over the previous three years.

"Well, I dismiss the three of you from your services." Nix said, a bit of pain in his voice. "You were our best riders, but once your memory's regained, being a rider doesn't work as well."

The smashers looked at him, puzzled. "Why's that?" Young Link spoke up, asking the unspoken question they all shared. Only Samus looked as though she knew what the Leader of Home was talking about.

"Well, I don't know how, but bandits loose their minds upon coming here. They can only be truly distracted by similar conditioned people. Now that your memories have been regained, they would be harder to distract." Nix spoke thoughtfully. "It's a confusing thing, I agree, and I assure you that it makes little sense to even myself. The laws of Desert, I guess."

"Right." Zelda tapped on her splinted arm. "But how do we get out of here is our question."

"Well, obviously, the gravity pull is great up there." Izu pointed up. "So we've decided, we're going to have to figure something out. You guys need to save the universe, correct?"

"Yeah." The smashers all nodded.

"Well, for now, rest. We'll be on it by tomorrow morning. For now, everyone's to rest. The Empire isn't about to stop. Unless we could somehow bomb the city itself, we're pretty much doomed, as spies have informed us that they will be making one final attack, and the plans would devastate Home. But perhaps by creating a machine strong enough to withstand the gravity pull, we could also make a bomber, which would serve us well. Anyways. Dismissed." Nix turned and left, Izu and the wolf right behind him.

Silence.

"Well… Who's hungry?"

The streets were bustling with people as emergency gear was being sold or traded and the rebels prepared for the worst. Roy looked about at all the strange races and animals that wandered the streets. There were the normal dogs, cats, a few hylians, humans were in abundance, and Roy swore he even saw what Link called a 'Goron' carrying a barrel of water. At Roy's side, Katan was watching the people.

"We're almost there." Katan looked up at her flame-haired lover. "I'll miss him when we have to leave."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Roy looked down at her deep blue eyes, seeing love and worry mixed together.

Pichu sat on Katan's shoulder, his tail and paw still bandaged. He held onto Katan's white scarf that she refused to take off at any time that it wasn't required, even though it got hot in Home as it did anywhere else in Desert.

The three arrived at a large domed building. A loud screech was heard inside, but no one looked up in alarm. They entered the building to find many cave like formations inside. The center of the building was open to the sky, and spanned almost forty meters in diameter.

A long head poked out of a cave and looked at the three. It was the wyvern Katan had captured during the battle. He watched the three, eyeing Roy warily as they approached.

"Xennen's his name, or so he says." Katan murmured to Roy. They were the only two who could understand dragonese, which fortunately was the language of all the winged lizards. Even the poke'mon, Charizard, could understand dragonese.

"Good afternoon, Xennen." Roy greeted the wyvern in dragonese.

_Good afternoon yourself, friend of Katana._ The wyvern lowered its head as it relaxed. Pichu, who could not understand dragonese, just watched in admiration.

"I will be leaving soon, Xennen, and you will be free to go where you please." Katan informed the wyvern, who merely nodded.

_If you do not mind,_ the wyvern eyed the opening in the ceiling. _I would like to depart now, to fly around Desert, and to find the legendary oasis of the dragon._ Xennen eyed the two, waiting for imput.

"Then fly my friend, and may the warm winds take you to your destination." Katan smiled. Xennon gave a cry of joy and without further ado, staggered out of his den and launched himself into the sky, the cries of the rest of the wyverns sending him on his way.

Running outside, Katan watched for a while until the wyvern disappeared from sight. Turning to Roy who had followed slowly due to still being a bit unsteady on his feet, she smiled. "Let's go join the others."

Roy smiled and nodded. Pichu gave a squeak of joy, and they walked back through Home.

The smashers gathered on a rooftop that night, to admire the stars. The house had belonged to the White Riders, but as they no longer existed, the house was temporarily given to them to use. It overlooked a field of grass ("Wow, there's grass here?!" Link had gasped. "We need to feed our animals for meat." Ness had pointed out blandly.) where strange creatures sat and ate all day long. The creatures were a mixture of a large pig and a cow, and had a tangy taste to their meat.

"Hey." Marth had started. "Look there."

A star was moving slowly across the sky, gaining speed as it approached their overhead position.

"It maybe a satellite. It'll probably end up falling into the desert somewhere, knowing Desert's gravity." Samus yawned and cuddled closer to Marth.

The star was momentarily forgotten as the group began to drift off to sleep. After ten or so minutes, they were awakened. This time, Link disturbed the peace.

"Hey, that star, its getting bigger. And closer." Link said, alarm inching into his voice.

Katan, Samus, and Ness sat up. "Well I'll be… it is getting bigger… closer… Oh sh-"

The warning klaxon began to ring wildly. An emergency speaker came on. "WARNING, DANGER, APPOROACHING OBJECT! EVACUATE UNDERGROUND! I REPEAT, WARNING, DANGER.." the warning went on.

"Shit shit shit, we're in trouble." Falco hissed.

The falling object was getting bigger way too fast. The Smashers could only watch, horrified, as the object headed straight for the field.

"Its going to crash!" Young Link wailed. Pichu was screeching in fear.

To everyone's amazement, the object slowed its decent, showing it to be a ship.

"No… How… That's…" Samus jumped up and ran down the stairs.

"Sammy!" Marth dashed after her. The rest of the smashers followed in alarm.

"Are we being attacked?" Young Link asked as they grabbed their weapons.

"I don't know, maybe." Zelda said, hurrying outside.

The streets were dead as the group of smashers burst out and ran down an alley towards the field. There, they jumped the fence and approached the landing ship. They paused.

"Wireframes?" Link asked, ready to attack. "I'll take them on!" The smashers gave their battle cries, drawing their weapons and getting ready to charge. Except one.

"No, wait." Samus held up a hand. The Smashers stopped in confusion, looking at Samus. They then turned and watched what would happen. The ship's hull opened slowly, causing dust to kick up that wasn't already floating through the air from the landing. Soon, the silhouette of a man appeared. As the dust from the landing settled, the smashers recognized none other than

"Captain Falcon, reporting for duty!"

* * *

Ooo, cliffhanger. Be very, very afraid!

Roy: (Yawns)

Link: Pfft, why the Captain?

Marth:(eating a wonderful treat called a brownie)

Link: Eeeh, she fell asleep. Read and Review so I can have a brownie!

Pichu: Yeah!


	9. Reunion: Old Friends and New Friends

Oh! I forgot to mention, since its New Years' Eve, I thought I'd double post! Sounds good?

Roy: Sa-weet! In the words of Peach, anyways.

Marth: Now onto the ninth chapter! I'm sure you'll all enjoy.

Fox: The authoress doesn't own any of us except Katan, Luan, the plot and... uh... Captain Falcon's space ship thing that has all the numbers in it. Alright?

Mario: Let's-a go!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Reunion: Old and New Gather in an Alliance!**

* * *

"Captain Falcon, Reporting for duty!"

"Falcon!" Falco gasped. The other smashers were silent with disbelief.

Suddenly, a crashing star landed beside the shocked group, causing them to jump, only for a familiar pink puffball to dust itself off. "Kirby here, puyo!"

To the smashers amazement, more of their old friends began piling off Captain Falcon's ship to surround the lost group; Mario and Peach, Pikachu and Jigglypuff, DK, Yoshi, all of the smashers, minus the long gone Mr. Game and Watch, Ganondorf, Bowser, and Mewtwo. Cries of joy floated through the air as the shocked citizens of Home watched from the safety of the fence or their homes and rooftops. No one noticed one man detach himself from his comrades.

"Well, I guess this is where we depart then." Nix's familiar voice spoke. The smashers who had fought on Desert turned to the man. He grinned. "Well, go get the enemy. I expect great things from you guys, especially you, White Squad."

A cheer went up from people as the people of Desert cheered on the Smashers and the former White Riders.

"Wow, we haven't even saved the universe yet." Marth joked. Roy's heart swelled with joy.

Samus nodded to Nix one last time, then turned to the ship where they were welcomed warmly by their comrades of old. Kirby joined them, his warp star having expired. With a wave and shouts of thank-you and good-bye, the hull closed and the Smashers were almost totally reunited.

Samus turned to Falcon. "Falcon, there's one more thing I need to do before we leave his planet." Falcon gave her a curious look, but didn't deny her. "I'll give you the coordinates. I'll take care of the rest."

The Soldiers of the Empire were celebrating a battle won. Tomorrow, they would head out and take over the rebel city once and for all. King Empire stood, his fingers covered with golden rings, a great golden crown upon his head, ready to speak. His eyes swept over his men, who silenced almost immediately.

Raising his golden chalice into the air, he roared. "VICTORY TO THE EMPIRE!"

The crowd of soldiers went wild. Their noise was so great; they didn't notice a foreign ship fly over head, dropping bombs. Most of the soldiers never knew what hit them as the blast sent large regiments of the men flying through the air, breathing their last breath in fear and confusion. The King gave a wail of fear as he watched his death land in front of him, exploding upon contact with the ground. T

"That it Samus?" Captain Falcon's voice spoke over the intercom as Samus closed the bomb hatch. His voice carried the sound of shock, but he didn't question her motives.

"Yes Captain."

"Then get to the cockpit and take your seat. The gravity is too strong for no one to be seated."

Samus did as she was told and hurried to join her fellow smashers. Upon opening the door, she was greeted with cries of joy from many of the smashers.

"Samus! Welcome-a back!" Mario and Luigi chorused.

"Sammy!" Peach almost screeched from where she was seat belted between Mario and Zelda.

Samus smirked, taking her seat between Marth and Ness, who was chatting excitedly with Popo beside him as he told the Ice Climber about his adventures as a member of the White Riders.

"Alright, this is your captain speaking. Please fasten all seat belts, this is going to be a bumpy ride." Captain Falcon spoke from the pilot's seat. Seatbelts were fastened and checked. The last of the checking was done as the ship began to wobble as it started its fight with the gravity. The smashers went silent, as though the silence and concentration would push the ship through.

The ship began to toss and throw through the gravity pull and the atmosphere, frightening some of the less brave smashers, though obviously, the ship wasn't having much of a problem. Within fifteen minutes, the ship cleared the last of the gravity pull, and was soon shooting smoothly through the stars towards another familiar ship.

"The Great Fox! Fox, look!" Falcon was pointing through the window, excitement setting in quickly in his voice.

"Master Hand is-a waiting for us-a there." Mario stated. "At-a least that's-a what he-a said."

Another familiar voice came through the sound system. "Great Fox to ship CF08891, please report."

"CF08891 to Great Fox, mission successful, we'll be seeing you soon Krystal." Captain Falcon replied.

"Krystal!" Fox hummed with joy, having already recognized the vulpine's voice. "She's alright!"

The Great Fox's shuttle hatch opened, admitting Falcon's ship into the Ship Bay. As soon as the bay was re-oxygenized, the Smashers filed out of the ship, chattering their heads off in excitement. Fox and Falco rushed towards the door, only for Krystal and Katt to burst from the door, Slippy and Peppy behind them.

"Fox!" Krystal set upon her fellow vulpine. "I was so worried when you guys fell onto that wandering planet and we lost contact with you guys…"

"Everything's alright now." Falco was telling Katt, who looked like she wouldn't let go of the avian for anything in the universe. "The rest of the smashers are here… Well, most of them."

Silence reigned as the group thought of their missing friends, the ex-villains and the small 2D figure of Mr. Game and Watch. But then, another, much loved familiar figure appeared in the doorway.

"Master Hand!" cheers went up as the Smashers bound over to their leader, the giant hand. Behind him twitched Crazy Hand.

"DON'T FORGET TO EAT YOUR BOOK!" Crazy shouted with glee before going back to twitching.

"Smashers! Let us retire to the meeting room promptly." Master Hand floated away, followed by the Smashers and the crew of the Great Fox.

"I can't believe we're almost all together again…" Katan laid her head against Roy's shoulder. He'd grown taller in the time they were apart.

"Its great!" Marth grinned as Samus pushed him into the meeting room.

As the smashers filed in and lounged at the long table placed there, food was brought by several humanoid figures, the cooks of the Great Fox. They filed out with words of welcome to Fox and Falco and many thanks from the Smashers.

Master Hand looked over his smashers. "Attention Smashers!" he called. They quieted while munching on the snacks.

"I'm very glad that so many of you were still around. As you know, the wire frames are gathering against us. They've taken over all of our lands, give or take a few others." At this, there were a few gasps and unhappy grumbles from those Smashers who didn't know their worlds were taken over. Master Hand continued as soon as the noise died down. "Due to this trouble, we've gone through great pains to regroup and attack the source. But alone, we can not do this."

"What?" Captain Falcon banged on the table. "We left our homes behind, had them captured, and now we learn that we can't do this battle?! What is our mission, a suicide mission?!"

Link, Roy, Marth, and Fox looked at Zelda, who acted like nothing happened.

"Fear not, my smashers, for after a long search, I've found another group to aid us." Master Hand must have been smirking. He was certainly bursting with pride for himself and his achievements as the Smashers looked at him in confusion and wonder. "Enter!"

From another door, a small group of six entered. The first brought about gasps, especially from Marth and Samus. For the leader of this small group was none other than Samus. The new Samus stopped, staring at herself in alarm.

"What…?" This Samus did not have the heavy red and orange suit, but a thin blue one that showed off every curve of her body. Another difference was the old Samus's eyes were a brilliant green; this new Samus had blue eyes. Marth looked nervously between this new Samus and the Samus he'd fallen in love with three long years ago.

Behind the new Samus came a boy who was about Roy's height. Like Roy, he had messy hair and bright blue eyes, but that's where the similarities stopped. The boy had brown hair and brilliant white angelic wings. A strange bow was strapped across his back. His attire consisted of Greek-like clothing, as well as golden laurels peeking out from his hair.

Next came another boy, who looked young. He wore a pink baseball hat with half a white circle on the front. His attire was simple; a t-shirt, red vest, and jeans. On his belt were three pokeballs.

After this boy came a tall man with blue hair. He had armor similar to Roy and Marth's, as well as a huge golden sword that bulged before finally tapering at the end of the blade. Roy grinned. "Well met, Ike."

"Well met, Roy." The man nodded back, his face serious, hiding the shock of seeing a fellow fire emblemer, let alone three of them. "And Lady Katan and Prince Marth. What a surprise." Katan smiled shyly

After Ike came a boy who was about Ness's age. He was blonde and dressed similarly to Ness. "Ness!" the boy glared

"Lucas!" Ness greeted him stiffly, returning the glare.

Finally, another ape came through. He was tiny compared to DK, and wore a red shirt and baseball cap. DK roared in greeting, frightening the other smashers. "DIDDY!"

"Hiya Donkey Kong!" Diddy bounced in.

"Smashers, please meet Zero-Suit Samus," Samus nodded warily, "Pit," the boy with the wings smiled brightly, perking his wings delicately, "Poke'mon Trainer," the boy with the pink hat nodded stoically, "Ike," Ike nodded to the rest of the smashers, "Lucas," Lucas gave the crowd a peace sign with his fingers, "And Diddy Kong." Diddy waved coolly.

"Please sit down now."

The six sat to themselves at the end of the long table. "Now, I will be splitting you into five teams of six. One team will have five. Team One will be led by Mario, and will consist of Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Ness, Peach, and Lucas. Team Two, led by Fox, shall consist of Roy, Samus, Luigi, Yoshi, and Ike. Team Three, led by Link, shall consist of Pikachu, Marth, Pichu, Zero-Suit Samus, and Poke'mon Trainer."

"Please, call me Red." The poke'mon trainer said softly.

"Alright, Link, Pikachu, Marth, Pichu, Zero-Suit Samus, and Red. Team Four, our team of five, shall consist of Katan, Zelda, Falco, Kirby, and Pit, and, oh, um… Falco will lead. Team Five shall be led by Doctor Mario, and consists of the Ice Climbers, Young Link, DK, and Diddy Kong."

Marth and Roy frowned. They'd been split up from Samus and Katan. Marth looked over to Roy. "Watch her for me, would you?"

Roy nodded. Katan smiled. "I'll be okay, Roy, you don't need to worry about me."

Samus leaned over to Marth. "Watch out for Samus, I don't trust her." Marth grinned, knowing just what things that were going through Samus's head.

"Samus, I can only get lost in your eyes. And obviously, hers are the wrong ones." He winked, and she smiled. "There's only one Samus for me, and you can count on that."

Peppy stood up. "I have set up a meeting room for each group. Please go there so we can assign you your missions!"

The group broke up, with promises to meet up later.

Team One's room was filled with tension as Ness and Lucas glared at one another. Jigglypuff and Peach watched the two with worry dotting their faces. Mario and Captain Falcon meanwhile, were excited about the mission at hand.

In the room of Team Two, two swordsmen were reunited. "Ike! Long time no spar, my friend!"

"You too, Roy." The tall Ike clapped Roy on his back, nearly knocking Roy over. "You still got your cool sword?"

"Yep! I see you got a cool sword too." Roy chuckled.

Ike drew his large golden sword. "Indeed."

"If you two don't mind…" Fox chuckled.

"You might want to sit down soon." Samus pointed out coolly while Luigi and Yoshi chuckled from the background.

In the room of Team Three, things weren't looking so good.

Marth stared flatly at Zero-Suit Samus, who glared at him. "What do you want?"

"Why're you here?" Marth asked monotonously.

"Master Hand asked me to be here." Samus replied flatly.

"Now now Marth, settle down." Link flicked Marth's tiara, earning himself an aching finger. Pikachu and Pichu were busy chatting with Red.

"Hi Mr. Red!" Pichu squeaked.

"A talking Poke'mon! Wow!" Red knelt down to Pichu's height. "What else can you say?"

"Anything." Pikachu lazily yawned. "So can Jigglypuff, in Team One."

"So can Mewtwo!" Pichu squeaked back to Pikachu.

"Mewtwo's psychic, of course he can, Pichu." Red watched the conversation in amazement.

"How can I teach my poke'mon to do this?" Red asked.

"Well… Master Hand gave us the ability to speak… But I'm sure if you worked hard enough at it…?" Pikachu looked at Red. "Who are your poke'mon?"

"Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle." Red proudly spoke.

And so it went.

In the room of Team Four, Pit was the star of attention. "What pretty wings!" Katan exclaimed. "I'm Katan."

"Nice to meet you Katan. I'm Pit. And thanks, I do try to take good care of them."

"Why do you have wings, Pit?" Zelda asked curiously. "Aren't you human? I'm Zelda by the way."

"Actually, I don't know why I have wings. I just… do. Nice to meet you Zelda."

"PUYO! I'm Kirby!" Kirby inhaled the poor winged boy, sprouting wings of his own as he spat Pit back out.

"Dear god! What the he-" Pit looked bewildered.

"Sorry, Kirby… does that." Katan watched Kirby attempt to flap the tiny wings to no avail.

"Oh, yeah… I can't actually fly without a certain item." Pit sighed, then chuckled as Kirby puffed himself up and floated towards the ceiling.

"A winged creature that can't fly. How do you live with yourself?" Falco asked, not bothering to introduce himself. "Not that I blame you, I can't fly either. Not with these." He shook a wing.

"Well, its just that my wings are too small to support me." Pit started telling them about his wings, "So there's a bracelet I need in order to strengthen them. I can glide just fine though." He started going on about the mystical bracelet when Master Hand's voice came over the intercom.

"Alright smashers, these are your missions…"

* * *

Hmmmm, I seem to love cliffhangers, don't I?

Link: A little too much, I think.

Pichu: How exciting!

Marth: Ah, the wonders of inspiration. Say, where the heck did all the inspiration come from?

Well, I seem to be losing my mind in boredom! Alas, my woes shall end when school starts.

Roy: That's right folks, someone's actually excited for school to start.

Hey, when you're bored, live ten miles from the rest of the human race, what else can you do? Sure is cold though.

Marth: Yeah yeah, get on with it, I want to go party!

Everyone: New Years' Party! Wooo!

Link: Read and Review and join us in making our New Year's Resolutions!

Pfft, as if. Later!


	10. Revealed: We are the Super Smash Bros!

Marth: (grumbles)

Roy: What's that, Marth?

Link: He's just mad because he-

Roy: Had to sit here while the authoress wrote out the rest of the story?

Marth: Sure, why not?

Link: I kind of doubt that, anyways, the authoress does not own Super Smash Bros. Nintendo does.

I wish I did though...

* * *

**Revealed: We are the Super Smash Bros!**

* * *

Dinner that night was never better, even though the wonderful foods that the Smashers had once enjoyed in the Smash Mansion were a lot better than the food rations of the Great Fox. It turned out that during the whole three-year period, none of the smashers had contact with one another, except the few new smashers who may have had some contact with the older smashers. At one point, the entire group of older smashers began talking about just how the worlds had split. Little did they know, this talk would end in bitter taste.

"Say, why did the worlds split apart like they did?" Captain Falcon had raised his voice in question to Master Hand. Silence came over the group as the smashers either wondered or thought back to how it had happened.

Master Hand was silent for a moment, before replying. "I don't have the answer for you, but I think someone else here does."

Confused murmurs rose before many eyes set onto the four smashers who had been missing for the whole three years. Roy found Katan's hand inching into his own, gripping his own larger hand nervously. He gave her a reassuring squeeze back. Finally, Ness rose.

"On Christmas morning," he began, giving a nervous look to Katan, who nodded to him to continue, "As you might remember, us younger smashers were making the rounds yelling that it was Christmas…"

Many of the Smashers nodded. Marth grimaced as he remembered that part; he'd had a hangover, and not to mention was exhausted after his night with Samus. He'd gotten up all the same, peeking his head out as a screeching noise erupted as Roy had passed his room on his way down stairs after a large screeching noise from his neighbor's room, which just so happened to be Katan's room.

"Anyways, I had gone to rouse Pichu from Katan's room, since he wasn't up yet. But when I went in there, I only found Luan." Ness blinked. "But something was wrong with him, like he was possessed or something." Roy winced as Katan's grip got tighter on his hand. He could feel her shaking a bit. He wondered if he should excuse himself and her from this. When he looked to her eyes, he saw only sadness and pain, but there was no look of wanting to escape.

"Then, Katan and Pichu came in. Luan started talking to Katan in a strange language, and he threw something at her, then she, well…" Ness looked to Katan, loosing his nerve to tell the story.

Katan smiled painfully at Ness, and then took over. "My brother released my dragon blood, thus turning me into a dragon."

There were frightened gasps. Zelda's eyes bulged; Katan had been attacking her the day it happened, but it was more of a pleading than actual attacking. "Due to my size, a large hole was opened in my room. My brother changed into his dragon form, still trying to control me. I tried to go to Zelda for help, but she didn't know who I was." Katan looked apologetically to Zelda, who was now focusing on her food. "I saw Roy, who also didn't recognize me, then I flew off, loosing Luan, which allowed me to turn back to my human form. I landed where Luan's dragonstone, his source of power, was in a machine. I destroyed the machine, which unfortunately destroyed Nintendo. None of it was actually my brother's fault however; he was being controlled by an evil man."

There were murmurs, some of disagreement with her last words, some of shock, and others of wariness towards their fellow smasher. Roy gave another reassuring grip as Katan shuddered in pain as she remembered her brother.

Link looked over at Marth, who was concentrating very hard on his food, like Zelda. Frowning, he patted Zelda's arm. "Its okay Zelda, there's no way you could have known." Link whispered. He caught Roy's eye, who suddenly frowned. Link froze. Did Roy think he was talking bad about Katan?

Said swordswoman let out an abrupt sob, the grief realized. She had no clue where her brother was, let alone if he was okay. Marth concentrated more on his food at Roy murmured softly to Katan. On Katan's other side, the angel-like boy, Pit, also tried to comfort the girl.

Finally Roy stood up. "If you'll excuse us, Master Hand." He said quite strongly. Marth visibly shuddered, and Zelda froze. Pit looked wide-eyed at Katan and Roy as Katan stood and left the room, Roy at her side.

After they were well gone, Master Hand let out a sigh. "I suspect there's more to this story?"

"Yes sir." Marth stood this time. He was quite shaken, remembering his part. "I had just gotten up after the younger smashers had made their rounds. I got dressed, and was about to do something else when I heard screeching from next door, as well as the sounds of a building falling apart. I went to the door after picking up Falchion, and stuck my head out just as Roy ran past, his face looking as though he'd seen a ghost. I felt there was something wrong, so I followed."

"I too saw Roy run past, and followed with Marth." Link volunteered. "We came outside right behind Roy, and Roy was in hysterics. Marth tripped him to slow him down, and Roy nearly punched Marth in return. It was then, we saw Luan, only he was in human form by now. A guy had possessed him that we had met at the mall named Eula. He was the murderer, and had been using Luan to do his dirty work." Link smartly left out the part that it was Luan's jealousy for Roy and Pichu's being so close to his sister. Ness and Pichu watched with large eyes, seeing as they had been with Katan when this happened.

"Then Samus came running, and she wasn't wearing her suit and well… Luan pulled out a gun and killed her." Link watched both Samuses. Zero Samus smirked while Samus turned to Marth, effectively cutting off Link's view. "Then we saw this white light approaching, and next thing I knew, Marth tackled Luan and well… stabbed the poor kid through the head."

Some smashers laughed while others were appalled. Marth had enough by now. Without a word, he kicked his chair back. "The next person who laughs at Luan is going to have to answer personally to me! Marth! Or any of you who have anything else bad to say about Luan, or Katan, or myself, or anyone else!" Marth stomped off, leaving everyone else speechless at the abrupt fit. Samus blinked before standing and leaving to calm Marth down with an apology to the rest of the smashers.

Once they were sure Marth was gone, the smashers began asking questions again. "What was that white light?" Popo volunteered this time.

"I'm not sure… whatever it was, it tore apart the world and sent us back to our respective planets…" Link continued. "Katan would know more… I'm not sure of anything."

After that, the conversation went elsewhere, as though everyone was afraid that Marth would get mad over him or her just discussing the topic. And after a while, the smashers dispersed to prepare to get ready for battle and sleep.

Roy led the way into the room he had been given, Katan in his arms sobbing. He felt bad, and wondered if he should tell her Marth's part in the whole scheme of things. He decided not to for the time being.

Sitting on his bed, he held her for what seemed to be an eternity. He barely picked up Marth's yelling from the dining area, and heard his angry words being soothed by Samus as they passed his room. Roy closed his eyes, remembering that White Christmas like it was just yesterday…

"Roy?"

"Yes, Kat?"

"Luan's dead, isn't he." Katan seemed to whisper softly, her usually even voice cracking.

"Y-yes. I'm so sorry Kat…" Roy held her closer, but no heavier sobs came forth. Eyeing the scab on his arm from the battle in Desert the week before, Roy began to rock back and forth in a calming manner. He vaguely remembered his mother doing it, all those years ago, when he had accidentally cut his hand on his father's giant blade, Durandal.

Silence reigned for several more minutes, then Roy heard Katan let out a soft sigh; she had fallen into a blissful sleep. Gently laying her down on his bed, he studied her face.

She was certainly much tanner than she was three years ago; one of her ears held a golden ring with a sphere of white stone at the bottom of the ring. With a start, he reached into his shirt and pulled forth two of his most prized possessions; his and Katan's dragon stones.

He looked at Katan's first. It was swirling a sleepy blue, giving the mentality of its owner off perfectly. His own red stone was swirling quicker, giving him the thought of mixed, unhappy feelings. He remembered once upon a time, when they had been back at the Smash Mansion, when he had first seen Katan's dragonstone; she had been sleeping. His mother had a dragonstone as well, but it had vanished when she passed away. Looking back at his dragonstone, he began to wonder just where Katan had found it. Luan had appeared in his room the night he learned about dragon stones; the kid had been rather accepting back then.

Replacing Katan's dragonstone around her own neck, he pulled the blankets over her. She opened her eyes.

"Roy?"

"Yes?"

Katan didn't answer, but sat up. She gasped as she realized her dragonstone was now hanging around her neck. Looking at it, a quizzical look passed over her face. "I forgot about this."

Roy smiled. "I kept it safe for you. Nils told me that it would sometimes disappear if you died, so that's the one thing that kept me… well… me since you disappeared."

Katan let out a gasp, and went silent, staring at the sheets. She then crawled to Roy's side and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Roy."

"No prob-" Roy paused as a scratching noise came from the door. The two stared at the door as the scratching continued. It paused momentarily, then the door opened to a curious angel's face and a baby mouse that squeaked with joy. Pichu launched himself off of Pit's shoulder, and almost didn't make it to the bed. He scrambled onto the bed and was soon snuggling against Katan's midriff.

"Ah, sorry, the little mouse wanted in, and he couldn't reach the door so I thought I'd let him in, I hope I wasn't disturbing anything..! Are you okay? I'm really sorry, I really hope I didn't enter at a bad time to let the little mouse in and-" Pit's eyes were wide before a hand pushed him out of the doorway.

"I'll take care of angel boy here." Ike nodded to Roy and Katan, his face gentle as usual. "Good night."

"Night Ike, uh, night angel boy?" Roy ever so smoothly, could not recall said angel's name.

"His name's Pit." Katan smiled, re-melting Roy's heart as Ike's waving hand disappeared around the corner of the door.

"Well… I suppose we should get some sleep." Roy looked at the clock on the wall. It read 10:08. "I guess its still a bit early…"

Katan merely smiled before sinking into Roy's protective arms.

Meanwhile, Marth was cooling down.

"Shh, its okay Marth." Samus held his arm as the ex-prince continued to shake. He stopped abruptly.

"Samus."

"Marth?"

"I don't want you to go into battle when it does happen." Marth raised his head, his eyes full of resolve. "It's going to be too dangerous."

"No. I'm coming." Samus pleaded.

"Please, Samus, I've lost you once, and I don't want to lose you again." Marth began to shake again. "And last time I did, I killed our friend's brother."

"You what?"

"I killed Luan."

Samus took this in. She had died shortly before the world supposedly blew up, so she had no clue as to what had happened. The last thing she'd seen was Marth's tear stricken face as he called to her.

"Marth, I'll be prepared for battle this time. Last time, I had no clue what was happening. This time, I'll have my Chozo suit. I won't die."

"Samus, you know why else I don't want you to fight." Marth stared deep in her eyes.

"Its too early. Marth, I'm fighting. You have nothing to fear. I've made it on my own for years. It just happened that the one time I was caught off guard was fatal. This time, I'll have my group to back me up.

Marth was silent for several minutes. Finally, he gripped her hand. "Alright. I have faith in your words, dearest."

"Then let's sleep."

"Yes…" Marth now pulled Samus into his own arms, his shaking fit long gone. "Just remember that I love you, Samus."

Samus smiled. How lonely she had felt for the past three years, not being able to talk about Marth or any of the smashers with the three ex-riders of Desert. "I love you too, Marth."

With that, they crawled into their bed, their lips meeting before drifting off into their dreams, together.

Master Hand felt as one by one, his smashers fell asleep. With a sigh of relief, he wished Ness and Mario good night, and retired to his own quarters. Crazy was there, floating back and forth, twitching, and hiccupping.

"Crazy? What's the matter?" Master Hand asked his brother. He could feel the worry emanating from the twitching hand, which was the last feeling he thought he'd ever pick up from his brother, who was usually happy and carefree, no matter the situation.

"Many shall die tomorrow in combat." Crazy froze, a deep voice coming from the hand. Crazy's body then spasmed, and fell to the floor.

"Crazy!"

Crazy's body was prone on the floor. Worriedly, Master Hand touched his brother, who jumped up. "Hiya, Master! Want to play some Super Smash Bros?"

Master Hand froze. _Play_ the Super Smash Bros? Turning to where Crazy floated off to, Master Hand went to ask what Crazy was talking about. But Crazy had gone into his own sleep-like trance, and floated around harmlessly, inspite of the strange spasms and the urge to _play _the Super Smash Bros...

Master Hand made a note to ask Crazy just what he was talking about. Then an idea dawned on him. For as long as he had been the leader of the Smashers, he had always known his beloved Smashers as "Smashers" because of their tendency to smash each other in mock-combat. But to give them an official name… The Super Smash Bros!

The Super Smash Bros… A family of friends with diverse talents, from eating, flying Arwings, using swords, to controlling fire in several different ways, using projectiles, and being great friends even when separated.

_They are the Super Smash Bros already…_Master Hand thought. _They are the Super Smash Bros…_

An alarm brought many Smashers out of their peaceful sleep. An explosion was heard from at least three rooms, causing other Smashers to begin to panic. Suddenly, Master Hand's voice came over the intercom.

"ATTENTION ALL SMASHERS! WE HAVE A BATTLE AHEAD IN LESS THAN TWO HOURS! BREAKFAST WILL BE SERVED IN TEN MINUTES! PLEASE THEN GATHER IN YOUR TEAMS AND PREPARE FOR YOUR MISSIONS." The intercom shut off, leaving Smashers in fits of anxiety. Everyone rushed about to gather what he or she needed. Once again, the intercom came on. "I, MASTER HAND, WILL BE GIVING OUT OTHER SUPPLIES, SUCH AS BOMBS, HEALING MATERIAL, ETCETERA."

Doors opened as Smashers' poured out of their rooms. As Mario watched his fellow smashers enter the dining area, all he could find were determined faces. This made him feel equally determined, and he followed the last smasher in, his hopes high.

Everyone was seated with their friends, words of comfort and hope being passed between them. Master Hand thought of Crazy's warning the night before. _Many shall die tomorrow in combat._ When he had awoken from his own sleep, the twitching, spasming hand had been missing. A mental search found only darkness. Master Hand had given up his brother for being among the dead.

"Attention!"

Silence came swifter than an assassin's knife. All eyes turned towards Master Hand, where he stood alone on the makeshift stage. Master Hand looked at the assembled Smashers; four were gone, and hopefully the three that were last known to be alive were still among the living. With a deep breath, he spoke.

"Crazy Hand is dead."

Gasps of shock erupted, and the volume rose to great levels. Master Hand had to call attention several times before the Smashers calmed down enough to listen. "I also am changing the teams due to a few... problems."

"Team One is still lead by Mario. The team members are Lucas, Zelda, Link, Kirby, and Peach. Team Two, led by Samus, will consist of Ike, Roy, the Ice Climbers, and Doctor Mario. Team Three, led by Captain Falcon, consists of Red, Zero Samus, Ness, Jigglypuff, and Luigi. Team Four is Falco, Pit, Katan, Young Link, and Marth. Finally, Team Five is led by Fox, and had Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Pikachu, and Pichu. You all have the mission assigned to your group number. Alright, eat, and meet in your groups. Once your plans have been finalized, meet me in the Hangar for your weapons and extras."

As the food was placed before the smashers, there were murmurs of dismay, joy, anxiety, and numerous other feelings. Breakfast, though usually a group favorite, was bland, with the oncoming thought of war and possible death. Soon, the Smashers abandoned their food and joined in groups before heading to the Great Fox's hanger.

Each smasher was given their weapons of choice. Katan was overjoyed as Master Hand produced part of her once lost dagger collection. Every dagger disappeared onto her being, and soon only her nameless broad sword was the only visible weapon. Roy received his Sword of Seals, Link, the Master Sword, Marth got his Falchion, along with Samus's bracelet, and everyone else received their weapons. Then each smasher received a burlap backpack filled with other items; each sack contained two maxim tomatoes, emergency rations in case of getting lost, motion sensor bombs, an invisibility device, and four poke balls. Also included with each sack came different styles of headsets, some disguised as other things, some not, depending on the mission. Some smashers were given special items, such as a fire flower, star rods, super scopes, beam swords, and Kirby was given a new warp star summoning device.

Master Hand then pulled out a crate from seemingly nowhere. "Smashers, these are very special items called a Smash Ball. They're hard to find, as they will only appear at the most random of times. They're a fairly new discovery; they appeared as soon as our enemies, called 'Primids,' appeared. If you ever happen across one, save it, or use it if you must." Opening the crate, Master Hand pulled out a ball of energy that had a colorful rainbow tinge to it. Within the ball was an off-centered cross; the Smash symbol. "Each of you gets one." The strange balls were handed out to each Smasher.

"Alright Smashers, its time to say your good byes to one another." Master Hand said, the pain echoing in his voice. "Some of you will not make it out of this battle. I like to think that in a perfect world, everyone will do just fine, and that after all of this is over, we could finally have our second tournament. But everything's not perfect. I want you all to know, that you are the Super Smash Bros, and even if you go down in this fight, you will always be a part of the Super Smash Bros."

A cheer rose from the Smashers. Tears poured freely among the company as heartfelt goodbyes were exchanged, lovers giving possible last kisses, hands being shaken. Thoughts went out to Mr. Game and Watch, and the three still missing Smashers, Bowser, Ganondorf, and Mewtwo.

The Star Fox team said good-bye to their own two members of the Smash Corps. Fox and Falco gave strong grins to Krystal, Katt, Slippy and Peppy, promising that they would defeat the evil they were faced with. The two pilots then said their good-byes to each other.

"Katan, be careful." Roy cautioned, pulling her into his arms as though it would ward her from all harm.

"You too Roy." Katan gave him a soft, unsure kiss.

Marth spoke quickly to Samus. "I want you to be very careful. And if there's almost no chance at success, I want you to get out of there as quick as you can."

"It's okay Marth. I'll promise to do just that as long as you do just the same." Samus smiled sadly at her blue haired lover. With one last kiss, they joined their friends.

Link was glad that he was with Zelda. But all the same, he worried about his younger self. "Mini-me, I want you to be very careful. Stick with Katan and Marth, they will be able to show you something with your sword if you ask them nicely."

"Okay big-me!" Young Link, like several other younger Smashers, was excited at his mission. "You take good care of Zelda! And I'll see you when this is all over!"

"I will. I always do, always will." Link ruffled Young Link's hair. "See you around, mini-me."

"Tch, I concur, Link." Zelda teased, approaching from where she had been talking to Peach for a moment. "I think this time, I shall take good care of you."

"Alrighty then!" the three Hyrulians laughed.

Young Link went to tell his friends to take good care of themselves as well, while Link and Zelda joined Roy, Katan, Marth, and Samus.

"When all of this is over, I'm going to treat you all to Matthew's infamous chicken pie." Marth spoke first.

"Sounds good to me." Katan giggled. "I'm going to hold you to your word."

"You guys take good care of yourselves." Link almost seemed to scold. "I expect everyone to be there for that pie. And I mean, everyone."

Zelda pulled Katan aside. "Katan, I wanted to say I'm sorry for thinking you were trying to attack me back on White Christmas." Zelda apologized. Katan looked relieved.

"I'm sorry it even came to that." Katan replied. Zelda smiled, and the two embraced. Upon releasing one another, they found Marth to be standing beside them.

"Katan, I have a confession." Marth coughed. Katan looked puzzled, but there was a hint of understanding. "I, well… I…"

"Luan was being controlled. I don't blame you, Marth." Katan piped up. There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but her eyes were clear. "He was tortured enough. Possession by another living creature is a very painful experience, as I found out that day. Besides, he would be back in the Dragon Realm by now, and the only way I would get to visit him is by going back there and leaving all of my friends behind." Katan smiled. "All the same, if it comforts you, I accept your apology and forgive you, Marth, ex-prince of Altea."

Marth looked relieved. "I'm still sorry Katan, and I know the memory's going to haunt me for the rest of my days. I guess apologizing is my selfish way of relieving my mentality. And hey, someone finally got my title right for once!"

Katan smiled, and nodded. The three rejoined their friends, giving every goodbye they could think of at this terrible time before they exchanged last minute kisses and hugs. Finally, as the Smashers wrapped up their goodbyes, Master Hand spoke up. "Alright, prepare for take off!"

Each group of Smashers split into their respective groups, faces stoic, ready for battle. They loaded into their respective transporters, and soon took off, many tears being shed the entire while.

The Smash War had begun.

* * *

Well, someone should review. At least once? I may just have to post all the rest of the chapters if someone _does_ review (cough cough)

Fox: oh, stop sucking up.

Ike: I sense a review is over the horizon. Do not give up.

Pit: Wow, you sound like one of those fortune cookie things!

Ike: That's what I was aiming for.

Pit: Review, and you'll get a... uh.. chapter splurge?


	11. War: Smashing Battle, Mate!

Roy: Woo! We finally got reviews!

Marth: Much thanks to **Royal Kenya**, **Twilight BladerJulz, **and** RoyalFanatic**!

Link: Didn't you have a warning for the readers, authoress?

Oh, right. Everyone, I have a warning.

Marth: I think Link just announced that.

Shush, Marth. Anyways, this story is going to take a dramatic turn very soon. That means **Character Death** people!

Roy: -Gasp of Doom-

Also, I will be updating as I finish editting each chapter. That could be every day, maybe even twice or thrice in a single day. Reviews may or may not speed up the process. Also, as a kind of late gift to my readers, I have erected a poll asking you, as a reader, what you want me to write next! I've decided to put my latest scheme away for the time being. So go vote, and as soon as I finish this story and the epilogue, I will look at the totals, and write a new story! Likewise, I will also be open for ideas. If I like several of these ideas, I will erect another poll and see what the general public thinks of those ideas. Link, fire away!

Link:The authoress doesn't own anything. She doesn't own most of the plot anymore, since she's basing it partly off of the new adventure mode from Brawl. Don't sue, you won't get much of anything.

Fox: Read and be amused while you still can! And remember, drama!

* * *

**Chapter 10: War: Smashing Battle, Mate!**

* * *

"Alright-a Team One, Let's-a go!" Team Mario, or also Team one, had left the hanger nearly an hour before, coming to the giant planet where the enemy was believed to be hiding out. They parked outside of an enormous arena, where hundreds upon thousands of different races, including Cornerians, humans, Koopas, Dreamlanders, and so many other unnamed races, were entering for the first public Smash Battle that was not hosted by Master Hand and Crazy Hand. 

Team Mario's mission was to act as decoy, to draw out the enemy, who Master Hand believed was targeting the Smashers. It was possibly one of the more dangerous missions, as the unknown enemy would likely target the six as they duked it out with other 'Smashers.' They would have to be on their toes constantly.

Mario parked the transporter carefully; he had been given a crash course in driving the awkward flying contraption before they had descended to Desert to retrieve the last of the Smashers. Upon successfully parking, much to the plumber's relief, Team Mario exited the transporter, taking all they needed. Who knew if they'd ever see the transporter again?

"Where-a can-a we sign up for-a the Smash Battle?" Mario asked a parking monitor.

"Front Desk, sir." The monitor quickly replied. He turned back to focus on parking the incoming intergalactic mass-transporters.

The six smashers turned and gawked at the crowd that was growing larger by the second. Team Mario huddled.

"Alright, Link, Lucas, you are-a the observers. Master Hand-a reserved ringside seats for-a you under your names. Here-a are your-a tickets. We will-a sign up, and-a hopefully draw out-a the enemy! If-a that is-a to-a happen, I-a want you-a to contact-a Master Hand and-a report before-a helping us!"

"Alright." Lucas and Link spoke in unison.

The two took their tickets and with one last "be careful," they disappeared into the still growing crowd. Mario, Zelda, Kirby, and Peach headed into the crowd to wait.

Finally, after what seemed to be hours, they reached the front desk. "We-a would like to-a enter the tournament!" Mario exclaimed. People around them gasped and recognized four of Master Hand's legendary smashers. The man who was tending the front desk also recognized them and before the crowd could pounce upon the four, quickly ushered them through a side door.

"I'm glad you can join us, sirs, madams." The man bowed. "I will just need your names."

One by one, the remaining four gave the man their full names; Mario Mario, Peach Toadstool, Zelda of Hyrule, Kirby of Dreamland. The man then nodded, "Alright, we will be making up the schedule shortly. Please wait in this room here." He opened a door, allowing the four to enter.

"Thank you, sir." Zelda stepped past and entered, followed quickly by the other three who also thanked him. The man was already dreaming of telling his wife that he had spoken to the four legendary Smashers.

The room wasn't anything impressive. There were twelve other fighters in the room preparing for their fights, doing various stretching, mediation, or nothing in particular. Finding a secluded corner, Team One went over their plan.

"Alright-a, we just have-a to survive." Mario spoke softly, though it was hard to hear anyways, what with all the shouts coming from the other stretching contestants who found it helpful to shout.

"Should be easy enough. We're used to battle." Zelda claimed.

"We haven't smashed for three years though!" Kirby exclaimed.

"Just do what you used to do Kirby." Peach gave the pink puff an encouraging pat.

"We-a must be-a careful not to-a underestimate our-a opponents though." Mario cautioned. Zelda blushed as she realized her jump to the conclusion.

"ATTENTION ALL CONTESTANTS! PLEASE ENTER THE FIELD!" a voice came over the loudspeaker. Silently, the four followed their fellow contestants out, getting strange looks from those who weren't familiar with the Super Smash Bros.

A giant cheer pulled the sixteen contestants onto the battlefield. Immediately, Zelda raced her eyes across the front seats. She couldn't see Link however, and didn't try to find tiny Lucas.

"Can you guys see Link and Lucas?" Peach asked as Zelda gave up on looking.

"No."

"Not me, puyo."

"Not-a me either."

Discouraging looks bounced off each of the Smashers before Zelda was blinded by something bright. Glaring in the direction it came from, she spotted a familiar green hat.

"I found them!" she hissed in joy. Watching the other contestants wave at the crowd, she used the distraction to point to Link. Following her finger, the other three soon spotted Link and Lucas. Sure enough, they were in the front, in the VIP section. Link grinned, putting away his Master Sword before lounging, showing how comfortable he was.

"Wow. Master Hand went expensive." Kirby gawked. Zelda waved joyously, getting a wave back from her fellow Hyrulian and the little kid who was so similar to Ness.

"WELCOME TO THE FIRST INTERGALACTIC SMASH TOURNAMENT!" A cheap knockoff voice that was supposed to mimic Master Hand's voice roared over the loudspeaker, drawing out the word 'tournament.' The crowd burst into cheers so loud, the competitors could feel the field shaking beneath their feet.

The announcer went on to list the sponsors of the entire event, and then the competitors. As they were called, the four smashers would smile and wave. Inwardly, they really didn't like all the publicity. Inwardly, they all wished for the silent confines of Master Hand's arenas, the random items dropping from nowhere in particular, the weightless feeling…

A huge two-sided screen appeared abruptly, seemingly from nowhere, showing who was battling who in what round. Kirby was in the second round, Mario the third, Zelda the fifth, and Peach in the eighth and last round for the preliminary round. Each would have to win twice to be up against their fellow smashers. Suddenly, they were being ushered back into the room where they would await their battle. Only the two competitors who would start the fighting remained.

"Alright-a Kirby, you-a ready to kick some-a butt?" Mario asked.

"Puyo!" Kirby puffed himself up.

"Say, what are we going to do with our stuff?" Zelda asked, looking at their backpacks.

"Have someone else hold onto yours while you're fighting." Peach said, taking Kirby's backpack.

"Puyo! Let me take our stuff!" Kirby opened his mouth before anyone could complain, and soon had the four packs hidden within the confines of his mouth. Mario and Zelda burst out laughing as Peach scolded the puffball. Finally, she joined the laughter while Kirby bounced around them.

They began chatting as though it was any normal thing. Topics varied from the first tournament, that only Mario and Kirby had been a part of, to how Mario had talked Master Hand into including more fighters than just the 'Original Twelve' as they called themselves, to how they had watched so many new smashers, including the two princesses. Finally, Kirby and his opponent were called on.

"Go get'em Kirby!"

"Go Kirby!"

"Show-a them your mouth!"

Kirby grinned and followed his opponent out onto the blue field. The referee placed the two fighters into a white box that was painted on the ground. Kirby puffed himself up and faced his opponent.

The man was dressed from head to toe in strange, pink clothes. The only skin viewable was around the man's eyes. In all, the man was a very pink ninja.

"Ready, Set, Melee!"

Kirby waited for the man to approach, and as he had hoped, the ninja ran right at him. It was a big mistake. As soon as the ninja was in range and about to attack the pink puff, Kirby opened his mouth wide and inhaled, effectively sucking up the pink ninja, whose momentum only sped his inevitable doom. With a poof of pink smoke, Kirby was soon dressed in a similar pink ninja suit, the ninja spit halfway across the field, covered in thick Kirby slobber. The ninja was up in a flash however, his eyes narrowed at Kirby's mocking appearance and the feeling of wet clothes on his body. The ninja jumped, throwing several needles at Kirby, who in return imitated the ninja, blocking each needle with well-thrown shots. He then jumped into the air too, still throwing needles.

The ninja was so busy trying to block the needles he didn't realize Kirby was right above him. Quickly, Kirby drew out a long, slim katana from seemingly nowhere. With a strange, indiscernible yell, he made a rolling motion, and dropped onto the unsuspecting ninja.

The attack was not enough to send the ninja off the arena however, but his ninja outfit was effectively slashed, showing bare skin across the ninja's shoulder and chest. The ninja however, retaliated faster than Kirby was expecting. Using the needles as a distraction, the ninja ran straight at Kirby again. However, with Kirby too worried about blocking the needles, the ninja had free reign to attack Kirby as he pleased. Drawing a short blade of his own, the ninja proceeded to slash at the pink ninja puff repeated, keeping Kirby from retaliating. Finally, with another poof of pink smoke, Kirby returned to his own form. Kirby was sent flying through the air, recovering in time to float back onto the arena. He saw the ninja throwing needles once again, so Kirby floated into the air just in time to miss the deadly projectiles. Kirby then forced his body into a solid form and fell.

The pink ninja never knew what hit him. He flew off, hitting a strange barrier that prevented damage to the audience and stands, and fell down into a hole. A loud blast echoed from where the ninja fell, mocking a knock-off.

"GAME! THE WINNER IS… KIRBY!"

As loud cheering was issued to Kirby as he won, the ninja reappeared as a life-sized trophy. Kirby blinked, and then recognized what he had to do. Pushing the trophy over, he hit the stand, causing the stand to disappear, thus reviving the ninja. The ninja bowed in defeat.

"I comment you on your bravery, young puff." The ninja spoke with a heavy accent, then disappeared as any other ninja would; by smoke. Kirby was then ushered off to another room to await the semi-finals.

Next, came Mario and his opponent. The plumber felt bad, seeing that his opponent was a small girl with a teddy bear. But he would play fair and not underestimate the child. The child merely stared at the plumber, dragging her teddy bear along the floor of the field. Standing in their individual boxes, the two faced one another.

"READY, SET, MELEE!"

Mario shot a fireball at the girl in a test of her strength. Much to his surprise, the fireball never touched her. It just merely winked out of existence, causing loud bursts of cheers from the excited audience.

"I-a see! A psychic." Mario exclaimed. The girl blinked at him, before disappearing. Mario barely had enough time to turn around before a huge paw sent him flying. As he recovered, Mario's eyes bulged. The girl sat on top of a huge grizzly bear with enlarged fangs and claws, drool dripping from its mouth, its eyes glowing an eerie red color. Before he could do anything else, the bear turned and lunged for the red plumber again.

"Whoa!" Mario dodged, shooting a fireball to distract the creature. The fireball hit this time, causing the bear to roar in pain. Mario rolled out of the way of an enraged bear claw swipe. Mario launched himself through the air, landing behind the girl. Mario shoved her off as an older kid would do to a younger kid, causing her to hit the ground and begin to cry.

The crowd boo'd at Mario, many shouting about hurting a precious little girl. Mario sighed and ignored the crowd, mumbling to himself about not underestimating his opponent. He instead concentrated on the bear. Using one hand, he began to burn holes into the bear using his fire balls, revealing tons of stuffing that rolled out like so much blood. The bear continued to roar in pain, but could not dislodge the determined plumber from his seat. Finally, the bear got an idea. It stopped abruptly, causing a pause in Mario's burning, dropped to the ground, and rolled, squashing Mario.

Mario had the air knocked out of his lungs as the giant stuffed bear rolled him off of its back. Struggling to catch his breath, the plumber looked up in time to get a bear paw to the face, sending him flying across the arena.

Mario was getting tired of the giant stuffed bear. If only he had a larger fireball to burn the giant teddy bear with… He dodged another attack, still struggling to regain his breath.

For another ten minutes, Mario was struggling against the bear. He was getting weaker, but the bear seemed to be getting stronger and stronger as time went on.

Finally, Mario stepped on something round, causing him to fall and luckily, dodge the oncoming bear. Looking at the object, he realized it was one of Master Hand's special ball items.

Picking it up, he couldn't do anything else but use it. But how did it work? Mario put both his hands on it, crying out with shock as a brilliant rainbow-filled image flashed through his mind, and his body became several times more powerful than it had been before he had started battling.

With renewed vigor, Mario charged up another fireball, only, to his surprise, his hands began to glow with pure fire energy instead of the energy forming a ball. Forcing his hands out in front of him, he cried out. "Final Smash!"

Twin fiery tornadoes erupted from his hands, twisting around one another like two Chinese fire dragons. The bear was reduced to ash and bits of fluff as the flames devoured it. The great inferno was so great that Mario had to look away to keep his eyes from drying out. The roar was so loud as well that no one heard the announcer announce Mario's win. With a final roar, the attack ended, leaving nothing but dead silence. Even the crowd was in shock. Mario looked around, unbelieving what he had just done. The little girl was nowhere to be seen, and Mario was worried that he had burned her. But soon, a trophy of the little girl and her teddy bear, now looking harmless, appeared in front of him.

"Mario! Mario! Mario!" two voices broke the silence. Turning, Mario spotted Link and the little Lucas cheering. Soon the whole crowd had gone crazy, many cheering so wildly, they choked on their refreshments. Mario grinned before releasing the little girl from her frozen state.

The little girl smiled at him before holding out her hand. Mario shook it, and she departed, never once saying a single word.

Mario left for the winners' lounge where Kirby was sitting, inhaling the lounge's food.

"Kirby!" Mario greeted the pink puff.

"Mario!" None of the rooms they had been situated in had windows, so they could not see who had won or lost. "You won!"

"Of-a course!" Mario gave his signature peace sign. There was one other person in the room, but he paid no attention to them. "You won't believe what I just did…"

Nearly an hour passed before Zelda was admitted on to the arena. She waved at the crowd with an enchanting smile, and then looked at her opponent. He was a large burly man who seemed to be all muscle and brawn, and perhaps very little brain. He laughed.

"Ha! A pretty little girl thinks she can take on me?" the man laughed a hearty laugh. Zelda smiled, humoring him.

"Of course, sir! I wouldn't back down to such a silly match like this." Zelda watched Link smile down at her, pride for her covering his face.

"Grr, don't get so cocky, I'd hate to hurt your pretty little head." The man growled.

"READY, SET, MELEE!"

Zelda taunted the man. She was confident of her win. The man charged angrily, just about to crush her and her infuriating ways…

Only to find no one there.

The man blinked stupidly before feeling a cold chain wrap around his thick neck. He was pulled back violently, without remorse, catching a glimpse of blood red eyes before his attacker disappeared. Pushing himself up off the field, the man was met with a ball of fire. Zelda was visible again, charging up another ball of Din's Fire. She used the attack several times before backing off from the angry man.

"GRAAR!" The man roared angrily, charging at the infuriating princess. But once again, she disappeared. This time his rear end was met with a barrage of tiny needles. With a high pitched yelp, thought impossible for the man to do, the man turned, at last spotting his assailant; Sheik smirked, but it was lost among the folds of his sheikah uniform.

With a barrage of sparkles, Zelda stood where Sheik had once stood. She once again launched a ball of Din's Fire, with a small giggle. The man had so much damaged from the several attacked he had been issued, he was knocked right off the stage.

"GAME! THE WINNER IS… ZELDA!"

Zelda waved as the crowd cheered. The trophy of the man appeared, and she stared at it quizzically. Touching it, the man was released. He immediately tried to attack her.

"NO! I WILL WIN!" The man nearly got his giant hands around Zelda's small neck before he abruptly found himself within a strange ball. He was transported to a corner of the stage, cursing the princess in spite of being unheard in his strange prison, while Zelda left the stage, watching curiously. The man soon dropped out of the ball before the tournament officials subdued him.

"Whew, that was close." Lucas sighed with relief, dropping his hands, a small trickle of sweat falling down his temple.

"Thank you, Lucas." Link patted the kid.

"Force fields are hard to contain for even a small amount time." Lucas sat back. "Wake me if I'm needed." Lucas curled up in his chair right then and there, not waiting for Link's reply.

"Alright." Link watched the man being pushed through another door. He shook his head and settled down to wait for Peach's battle.

Half an Hour passed before Peach finally got on the arena. She waved as a loud cheer went up. Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom was well known.

The Princess's opponent was none other than a red-shelled Koopa. The Koopa grinned at the Princess. "Well well, Princess, shall we?" it asked.

"You bet!" Peach smiled, earning more cheers from the gathered crowd. They stood in their respective squares, awaiting the announcer to start the battle. Peach poked at the soft rubbery material used to make the blue field with a high heel. _How nice it would be to have the fields back in the Smash Mansion so nice and soft! _She found herself thinking. Finally, the announcer spoke. Or yelled, that is.

"READY, SET, MELEE!"

Peach stood up in time to see a red Koopa Shell flying at her. She pulled out a frying pan from the folds of her favorite pink dress and sent Koopa flying across the field. It landed, but was barely harmed; instead, the shell bounced before continuing, determined to get the princess, in her direction.

Peach again hit the shell with a nice solid _Thwack_! But still, the Koopa shell kept coming. Holding out her frying pan, she flipped the Koopa shell up into the air, then once again, hit the shell. This game repeated itself for five whole minutes before Peach realized this battle was going nowhere. As soon as she hit the Koopa shell finally, she threw her pan away and pulled out a golf club from seemingly nowhere. Holding the club head to the soft arena turf, she took aim as the Koopa came flying. Pulling the club back, she yelled.

"FORE!" Peach screamed to the heavens. Stepping back, she slammed the golf club into the shell, causing a painful reverberation to slide though the golf club. Peach dropped it and fretted over her 'delicate hands'

This time, the Koopa was sent flying well off the field. And being in his shell, did not realize this until he saw from within as everything faded away into darkness.

Cheers went up as the announcer yet again called out the winner: Princess Peach! Peach blinked.

"Oh, did I win?" she smiled innocently and waved at the crowd as the Koopa's trophy reappeared. Picking up her golf club, she poked at the statue of the Koopa. She cried out in shock as the base lit up, and the Koopa stood once again.

"I'm afraid so." The Koopa sighed in defeat. "Good job, Princess."

"Thank you Koopa. You did a marvelous job yourself!" Peach smiled before an official escorted her to the winner's lounge.

The four smashers were once again reunited in the Winner's Lounge. Besides them, there were four others, leaving eight total to enter the semi-finals. Peach sat down, grabbing a bottle of juice from a little cooler left for the fighters.

"This is too easy, you guys." Peach sighed. "I only had to hit my opponent ten times before he was sent off stage, which made it no fun."

"Well, it'll get the enemy's attention for sure." Zelda patted her fellow princess on the back. "Be glad for what you get, dear. I had to fight some crazy big guy, who I know I couldn't have beaten without Sheik's help. I haven't had to summon Sheik in a long time, so I'm terribly exhausted after having to do it twice. I'm sure you'll have more fun on the next round, though dear Peach."

And sure enough, Peach did. The second round of preliminaries were just as quick, yet not as easy as the first round of preliminaries were, due to their opponents having been able to warm up during their battles. Yet, still, the Smashers prevailed over their opponents. Soon, the semi-finals were ready to get underway.

The first battle would be Mario versus Kirby, the second battle Zelda versus Peach. Zelda and Peach were taken out so they could watch the battle. They sat right above the winner's lounge door watching with interest as Kirby and Mario were quite literally, thrown into battle.

For added drama, before the battle began, the two fighters were turned into statues. They were then thrown perfectly, causing them to land on their bases, causing the base to shatter, thus setting the smasher loose for battle.

As both came back to their senses, they launched into a stare down, both carrying mock facial features to show fake distrust of the other. Mario stood his tallest while Kirby puffed himself up without jumping. All the added drama had the crowd on its feet, screaming in excitement for the oncoming battle. This battle would be a _real_ smash battle.

"May-a the best-a man or-a puffball win." Mario grinned to Kirby abruptly, who answered with a distinct "Puyo!" while waving his stubby arms about and bouncing on his feet.

"Ready…"

Mario and Kirby prepared to jump at one another.

"Set…"

The crowd was screaming in anticipation. Link and Lucas cheered their all, while Zelda and Peach watched in excitement, almost forgetting the danger they were all in for the adrenaline rush of a smash battle that neither princess had seen in well over three years.

"MELEE!"

The smash battle was on!

* * *

It was okay, I hope? Got kind of bored with describing battle scenes. Not really my thing it seems anymore. Don't the smashers have god-like battle skillz?

Pit: FOR THE WIN!

Ike: Hush Pit, you'll scare the children.

Pit: No I won't. There are no children round here. The parental units are AWAY though for three days! Let us rejoice!

Ike: We're rejoicing for finally getting reviews. The authoress still has school to deal with.

Pit: Oh fine. Review everyone! So we can rejoice more! And don't forget to vote on the poll!


	12. Commencement: It Begins

Sorry everyone, life decided to slap me across the face a few times.

Roy: As in she's such a procrastinator, that she hasn't been working on her school prjects and the such!

Marth: And she's been staying up late, thus recieving an A in sleep deprivation!

Link: This is a lesson learned folks! Don't drink and drive!

Roy: ... uh.. Link? We aren't talking about alcoholism.

Link: I know. Still a good moment to share that with the world however. She did learn that that funny icyhot stuff is not a fun thing to put on one's shins at the same time, not matter how sore!

Hm, good one, Link. That was the strangest feeling in the world.

Marth: Anyways, for our Reviewers!

Roy: **Twilight BladerJulz, **the authoress would like to say thanks for the review and the comments! She is indeed attempting to stylize the last few chapters after Subspace Emissary, just because she started foaming at the mouth when she saw all the videos for it on YouTube.

Marth: For **RoyalKenya,** the authoress thanks you too! She likes all the Marth/Sammy-ness as well (why else would she pair us together?) And she's had fun making our relationship all "Ohz Noez, don't die!" and stuff like that. Thanks for the reviews!

Link: For **RoyalFanatic,** the authoress would like to say Hello there! And Thanks for the reviews! Here's the update!

Captain Falcon: The Authoress does not own us. If she did, it would be certain that Marth and Roy would still be in Brawl.

Young Link: Onward to Chapter 12!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Commencement: It Begins**

* * *

Meanwhile, three other groups and the leader of the fourth floated through the huge, yellow clouds, hidden from their enemies, yet unable to see what their probes couldn't pick up. Team Two was waiting upon Team Four, who were awaiting the enemy's appearance. Nothing could be done until that happened. Meanwhile, Team Three were trying to keep a close eye on the battle at hand in the stadium. However, with the clouds drifting about this task was proving to be getting harder and harder as time passed.

Fox, in his Arwing, kept his eyes on his screen, keeping an eye out for any differences in air pressure, sound waves, anything he could monitor. So far, everything was quiet. Fox then looked to another screen, where his team, Team 5, was retrieving what looked like a large pile of bananas. In all truths, those bananas held secret bombs inside each of them; the banana outer layer was a mere disguise for these strange devices.

Team 5's mission was to retrieve these bananas from their jungle like surroundings from a hideout where they had been hidden. None other than Cranky Kong, who had shone a wonderful skill in bomb making recently, and Barnes, a man from Hyrule, had made the banana shaped objects of destruction. Master Hand planned to use the bananas on the enemies if today's plans did not go as well as planned. So far, the plan was going great; Team 5 was having no interference of any sort, so they had little to fear other than when they would try to take the strange fruit-look-alikes out of the makeshift hut. But this did not serve to calm the nerves of four of the five smashers involved.

DK watched his young nephew look about warily, expecting the jungle around them to jump up and attack them at any moment. Likewise, Pichu and Pikachu had their soft velvety fur on end (though this was not easy to tell from the naked eye), sparks crackling from both of their cheeks. Pichu would often shock himself with all the nervous energy, and would emit strange chirping sounds as he did so, only serving to startle the others.

Yoshi meanwhile, was carefully stacking the banana bombs onto a cart. So far, he wasn't too worried about sudden attacks, but this was possibly only because he was being kept busy by stacking the bananas onto the strange cart. Two small Bullet Bill canons were connected to the back, and the cart was steered using a large joystick-like stick. Eventually, Diddy calmed down enough to help, Pikachu joining him as soon as the older mouse settled down enough to keep the static from setting off the bombs. Due to his nervous uncontrollable self-shocking, Pichu wasn't allowed near the cart and its explosive contents. Little did they know, they were moments away from disaster…

* * *

Back in the arena, the smash battle was well underway. Kirby had inhaled the red plumber almost immediately and soon sprouted a red hat to match Mario's. Mario was spat out, racking in a few damage points. He ignored the Kirby slobber and shot a fireball at the little pink Mario-fied puff. "Let's-a go!" Mario called to the puffball, drawing an arm back, focusing his energy in his fist. However, he was forced to pull up his special round shield as Kirby returned the fireball with a quick flip of the cape he had received from eating Mario.

Mario blocked the fireball, watching as it puffed out of existence on his red-tinted shield, which was gradually growing smaller. Releasing the shield before it could break and leave him in a dangerously dizzy state, Mario charged his body up with fiery energy not unlike that of Roy's, and was soon flying through the air like a torpedo, sending the pink puff flying off the arena.

"Puyo!" Kirby puffed himself up and was soon back on the blue stage. He had lost his Mario-like abilities, so he drew out his thin katana, and with a flick of his round body, hit Mario, sending him back across the arena. Hurrying forward, he punched the plumber with all he could, sending him flying off the arena.

Fortunately for Mario, he managed to catch himself and send himself barreling back towards the stage. He managed to catch the edge, where Kirby again hit him. For the second time however, he managed to make it back to the stage. Mario pulled himself onto the stage, kicking Kirby backwards, giving himself room to recover. Kirby bounced off, then with a kick, went flying back at Mario, katana drawn. Pulling his arm back and focusing energy into his hand, Mario nailed the pink puff squarely in the face with one enlarged fist.

"Puyoooooo!" Kirby was sent flying with no hopes of recovery. The crowd roared.

"GAME! THE WINNER IS… MARIO!" The announcer shouted. Zelda and Peach cheered wildly, quickly forgetting that they were up next. Link and Lucas were standing and applauding for a good smash, and the crowd was going nuts, forgetting also that there was another battle before the final battle for the title of Smasher.

Kirby's trophy reappeared, on its side. Mario tapped the base, and Kirby bounced back up. He looked around confused for a moment, then smiled at Mario.

"Good-a job, Kirby. You're a worthy opponent!" Mario offered his hand.

"You did an awesome job, Mario! I see you've been training." Kirby shook Mario's hand with his own stubby stub of an arm. The two turned as one and waved at the crowd, who just got even louder throughout all the excitement. No one noticed the sky growing dark.

It was Lucas who first noticed something was wrong. His brain was suddenly hit with a painful blast as he began to feel for the source of the disturbance. He fell to the ground, not even feeling the pain as he hit the ground. He began to squirm.

"Yeeuuuh!" Lucas held his head, shouting out in pain. He curled into a fetal position.

"Lucas?" Link looked down at the little blonde boy, who was on the ground quivering and crying out in pain. "Lucas! What's wrong!?"

Mario saw Link disappear to the floor. He blinked, when shouts and screams, both of fear and excitement rent the air. Looking up, he realized the clouds were growing a dark pink color as a giant ship appeared from the thick clouds of space matter.

"Oh no!" Peach cried, pointing to the ship as another hand flew to her mouth.

"We need to get out there!" Zelda's face was contorted. She touched Peach's arm, and the two launched themselves across the gaping abyss between the stage and their sitting place.

Zelda landed on the edge of the arena, disappearing in a spin of sparkles, only to reappear beside Mario, who turned to look, his surprise evident on his face. Zelda didn't take her eyes off the giant ship even once. Peach floated in a moment later, her umbrella carrying her weight all the way from where they had been watching the battle. She landed between Zelda and Kirby, her umbrella disappearing into her dress, a determined look upon her face.

As the ship floated overhead, small purple splotches floated down from a hatch in the ship's hull. They landed, and began to form into strange creatures that closely resembled Sandbag, the sandbag the Smashers used to use in the Homerun Contests. These sandbag creatures had arms and legs, however, and seemed more dangerous than the sandbag could have ever been.

"Mario!" A deep scratchy voice called out abruptly. Mario turned in surprise, only to get a small Bullet Bill to the stomach, sending him flying out into the space matter in the blink of an eye. Before the remaining three could turn to recognize whoever had shot Mario, another creature began to descend from the ship, dropping what seemed to be a bomb of some sorts. It landed with a huge sound upon the soft blue arena. Two little robotic creatures pulled opened the bomb from either side, showing a timer. They had two minutes.

"Mario!" Peach and Zelda finally cried out, their confused thoughts organized as best as possible. They were about to attack his attacker when large thick bars fell down around them, creating a cage of some sort that fused with the field, creating the bottom of the cage. The beast that had captured them lifted the cages and their precious contents. It was a Piranha Plant, a giant one that banged the cages together before roaring at Kirby, who had somehow managed to escape being caught in Peach's cage. Zelda and Peach both cried out in pain as the reverberating cages shook their heads painfully.

"Puyo!" Kirby launched himself at the plant, drawing his Katana. Two arrows embedded themselves into the Piranha Plant's stem. Kirby saw Link put away his bow before the strange sandbag like creatures began to overwhelm him. He still fought them off with ease, sending them into the deep abyss, where they did not return.

Kirby swiped his sword quickly at the Piranha plant, cutting at its stem, which began to weaken. The Piranha Plant hit the tiny puff with Peach's cage, sending him flying painfully across the arena. Kirby got back up, stifling a painful cry as a large bruise made itself apparent on his round head. He re-attacked with gusto, his katana slashing deep gashes into the Piranha Plant's thick stem. Each slash weakened it further, and by now, Kirby had learned to evade the oncoming cages that the Princesses were stuck in. Eventually, the plant fell, its stem cut, dropping the cages. Peach screamed as her cage broke open, and she fell out, her dress tearing. Landing on the ground, she caught her breath, her head aching painfully. Pushing herself up, she blinked as Kirby sat down, exhausted. She blinked, and saw a familiar short, fat man hobble onto the stage, dropping a giant gun on the ground with a huge _CLANG_, and aiming for Zelda, who's dress and possibly leg were stuck under her cage.

"Wahahaha!" Wario cackled. He charged the gun.

"Zelda!" Kirby and Peach cried. Link looked up in alarm before Lucas managed to stand, transporting himself and Link out of there and to safety.

The gun shot, a black pointer arrow extending from the gun and piercing Zelda in the heart. This managed to free her from her captured position, throwing her into the air. Her body fell to the ground, stiff as a board. Wario's strange gun had turned the Hyrulian Princess into a trophy.

Wario picked up the trophy with a cackling laughter. Kirby pulled Peach away, towards the entrance so they could escape. They ran past the bomb, and with a quick glance, their hearts skipped a beat.

Four seconds left.

Four long eternities later, the bomb exploded, but not in flames. A perfect purple-black sphere expanded, turning everything it touched into the strange dark sandbag-like creatures. Kirby managed to summoned a warpstar, and soon the two were flying away as fast as the warpstar would take them, which fortunately, was fast enough to escape the strange darkness. They burst through the cloud cover where they came face to face with the ship that had claimed their friends. Wobbling precariously, they tried to escape, but the ship spotted them immediately, giving chase.

Kirby's warpstar was no match for the huge and fast ship, and soon it knocked the warpstar up onto its top, where the life-saving star blinked out in a ball of flames. Kirby and Peach lay on their backs, catching some much needed breath.

"C-come on, Peach, we need to s-see if we can find th-the other t-team, uh, team f-f-four, right? They sh-should b-be here a-any moment to i-infiltrate." Kirby sobbed. Peach was on her knees, tears running down her face and into the air.

"Mario… Link… Lucas… Zelly… They're all gone Kirby, all gone… and those poor innocent people…!" Peach broke down in a fit of sobs. She clutched the tiny puff, which clutched her back. The cold breeze froze their tears, sending them into the open air.

Finally, after what seemed to be one painful forever, they recollected their thoughts, and Kirby produced the four bags he had devoured for safekeeping. They were never more thankful of his decision to hide the bags in his endless stomach. They pulled out the forgotten headset, and turning it on, Peach contacted the nearest Smasher.

"Peach here, does anyone hear me?" Peach tried not to let her voice crack as thoughts of Mario and the other smashers who were gone ran through her head.

"Peach? Is that you?" a voice responded, crackling a moment due to the headset; Fox.

"Fox! Oh, its horrible, we lost everyone… Kirby and I are the only ones left… I don't know if Link and Lucas are dead, but Zelda was at least captured, if she's still alive and Mario… Oh!" Peach sobbed again.

"Whoa, there, girl, I'm coming. Where are you? Wait, never mind, I've got your sign- Wait, are you on the enemy's ship?" Fox seemed to have found the ship.

"Y-yes, Kirby and I managed to escape, but we ended up on top of the ship." Peach stifled more sobs.

"Alright, I'm coming. Get to the back of the ship, and I'll pick you up. Step quick now!" and the signal was cut.

"Let's go, Peach." Kirby gave her a bag with Mario's share of items as well as her own stuffed in it, including the colorful Smash Ball that had been given to the plumber. Abandoning the other empty sacks, they began to run towards the other end of the ship, jumping over obstacles, slipping and sliding in sometimes-dangerous spots, and climbing onto several flight decks. Finally, they neared the end of the ship, when they heard a grinding noise, and saw flashes of light erupt in small dashes into the sky.

The lasers flew towards a lone Arwing.

"Fox!" Peach gasped. The Arwing barrel rolled to avoid the oncoming lasers, and managed to dodge for the most part. But soon the lasers overwhelmed the small Arwing, and it was hit. This however did not take down the hardy Arwing. However, behind the two frightened smashers, a strange box raised itself from the ship and launched a long tentacle-like claw-shot not unlike Link's own claw-shot. The tentacle flew through the air, slamming into Fox's Arwing, neatly breaking off a wing.

Peach and Kirby yelped in shock and fear as the Arwing flew straight at them, out of control and smoking. It bounced off the flight deck, leaving several holes and scrapes, and sent both princess and pink puff flying off the ship into thin air. Peach screamed like she had never screamed before, Kirby panicking himself. Both forgot about their defensive recovery techniques or the warpstar summoner.

Fortunately, as they cleared the cloud cover, a transporter appeared, several anxious faces appearing as the back opened. Matching the two falling figures in their free fall, the transporter had opened its hatch to capture the falling smashers. With a quick reminded, Kirby managed to puff himself into the transporter where Jigglypuff showered him in worried kisses, but Zero-Samus had to use her grapple beam to get Peach, who threw herself into the arms of Mario's younger brother. Soon, the two lost smashers, the remaining part of Team One, were rescued.

None of the Smashers noticed a falling Arwing nose-diving towards a deep lake.

* * *

Things were not going well at all. DK smashed a Hammer Bro and send a Winged Goomba flying into the sky. He then took off in a mad dash through the jungle.

The grounded members of Team 5 had been surprise attacked; Pikachu and Pichu had been turned into strange statue like things by a strange Koopa that very closely resembled Bowser, Diddy was nowhere to be seen, and Yoshi was unusually still on the floor, eyes wide in shock. Green-blue goop seemed to be 'bleeding' from a deep wound in his neck where a Koopa had slashed at the poor peaceful green dinosaur.

A Koopa had stolen the cart, the Bullet Bill cannons being controlled by a rather smart Goomba. As DK crashed out of the jungle and onto the edge of a cliff that impeded his path with a roar, he looked down to the bottom where the cart was racing away as fast as it could go. The Goomba controlling the cannons jumped up in alarm before launching three bullet bills at DK.

All smashers, at one point in their lives, learned the dangers of Bullet Bills, no matter the size, with little thanks to Princess Peach's castle, where a Bullet Bill would and could be seen drilling into the side of the castle, only to blow up moments later in disastrous results for any who stood nearby. This Bullet Bill that they all were familiar with was large and slow, however. The three coming at DK were small and fast, and almost seemed eager to blow something up.

Just as DK threw his arms up in defense, another figure sprinted, jumped off DK's huge back, and with several matrix-style flips, shot two peanuts out of peanut pop-guns at two of the Bullet Bills. Diddy watched in satisfaction as they blew up, leaving one left. It sped at them, but once again, Diddy's peanut gun foiled its plans of destruction. The peanut hit the Bullet Bill, causing it to land behind DK, still amazingly in one piece. Diddy landed at DK's side, where they got ready to charge the cart that was moving away with twin stances that screamed cool. The Bullet Bill finally blew up, and DK and Diddy were off, after the Banana Cart. However, this was easier said than done, as the cart was already well ahead of them, and between Diddy and Donkey Kong, neither of them were very fast.

This problem was quickly solved as Donkey Kong pulled forth a strange object from his pack; the strange device had several animals on it. Diddy followed Donkey Kong's idea by pulling out a similar device with a monkey grin. They both pressed a Rhinoceros picture on the device, summoning twin rhinoceros that were similar to their friend, Rambo the Rhinoceros.

"Yeehaw!" Diddy jumped on the Rhino, and was soon speeding off at a speed that would allow him to easily catch up to the cart. Donkey Kong was right behind him with a larger Rhino, roaring in delight at the speeds they traveled at. Together, they sped after the cart, the solid horns of the rhinos knocking any obstacles aside with practiced ease.

Soon, the trail split in two different directions. Diddy and Donkey Kong blinked at each other.

"Diddy, left, Donkey Kong, right." Donkey Kong stated, pointing in each direction as he stated them.

"Alright big D, see you in a bit!" with a flourishing wave, Diddy disappeared to the left, into the jungle. Donkey Kong continued to race down the road, unknowingly straight into a trap.

Diddy's rhino soon could not go any further, as the jungle got thicker, already recovering from whatever had caused it to create a trail. Turning the device that summoned the rhino off, Diddy resorted to swinging through the trees, just as easily keeping up with the trail.

After several minutes of hardcore swinging, he emerged from the trees at a wide, placid lake; a dead end. But he soon saw just what had caused the damage.

Hanging over the edge of the lake was an Arwing, still smoking from its crash landing. The left wing was missing, and a small fire burned from where the engine was located.

"Oh no, Fox!" Diddy started for the Arwing, freezing when a roar distracted him. Looking to the lake, Diddy's jaw dropped as a large dragon-like poke'mon emerged from the lake, its body long and lithe, with two clawed 'hands' and lots of tiny sharp teeth.

Opening its mouth, the poke'mon gathered energy in a brilliant blue-white ball, and shot it at the smoking Arwing, where it blew up, nearly blowing Diddy away. Diddy rolled across the ground, where he ended up sitting, bug-eyed, jaw hanging open while twitching in disbelief. He was quickly brought out of his fright into an even more scarier moment as the poke'mon swooped over him, picking him up and carrying him back to the lake, where the poke'mon proceeded to roar at him, its breath horrendous.

However, the poke'mon failed to notice something spring high in the air from the Arwing; with a flash, something hit the Poke'mon's arm, freeing Diddy from its soon-to-be-deadly grasp. The poke'mon roared in pain and anger as Fox landed safely on shore after a speedy Fox Illusion attack. It charged another bright ball and shot it at Fox, who neatly pulled out his reflector in the nick of time, causing the ball of energy to bounce off and hit the poke'mon back.

Diddy pulled himself on shore, soaked thoroughly. With a shocked and relieved cry, he greeted Fox. "Fox!"

"Where's everyone else?" Fox asked, examining the lake with his eye monitor. Surprisingly, it was still in one piece.

"DK went after the Banana Bombs, Pichu and Pikachu were turned into statues, and well… Yoshi…" Diddy looked away. Fox sighed, yet still not taking his focus off the lake.

"We'll retrieve his body later. For now, we have an enemy to fight." Diddy nearly fainted as the angry Poke'mon reemerged from the water, screaming its defiance at the two humanoid creatures who denied it a meal. "Let's fight, Diddy."

* * *

DK meanwhile, was fighting with tooth and paw. The Koopa and Goomba were already knocked out, as well as the many others sent to help stop the giant Ape. All in all, the trap the giant ape had sprung had little effect on stopping the raging gorilla. Ever since the night that he had been attacked by Luan with the poisoned knife, DK had trained his body to be at his strongest. And now it came in handy.

Koopas were sent flying to the jungle edges, Goombas into the trees. Hammer Bros threw hammers at the gorilla to no effect. He merely swatted them away before throwing them to the jungle.

Soon, Donkey Kong had smashed the Koopas, Hammer Bros, and Goombas into pulp. Climbing on the cart, he proceeded to return to the spot where he had split with Diddy, only to have a rhino come running, Fox and Diddy riding its back. He hadn't even had to move the hard to control cart.

"Mission accomplished." Donkey Kong roared, beating his hands on his chest in defiance to the Koopas, Goombas, and whoever else wanted to fight him for the Banana Bombs.

"Alright. I'll get Master Hand to send someone to pick us up." Fox sighed, tapping his headset. "I talked to Peach a while ago."

"Yeah? What's the news?" Diddy asked.

"Terrible. She and Kirby were the only ones left." Fox sighed. "And now, we've lost Pikachu, Pichu, and Yoshi. That's seven down. Out of twenty-nine."

Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong were silent as they thought of their lost friends. Donkey Kong was the most upset; he had been a good friend of Yoshi's. "I be back." Donkey Kong summoned an ostrich this time, and was soon out of sight as he raced down the road.

"Where is he going?" Diddy asked no one in particular, a tinge of grief upon his voice. Fox shrugged.

"Master Hand?" Fox called into his headset.

"Fox, is that you? What's your status?"

"Mission complete, requesting pick up. We're about a quarter of a mile away from a lake, in a clearing. There's a road…"

"Alright. How's everyone?"

"Well… We've lost Yoshi for sure. Pichu and Pikachu were turned into statues… My Arwing was destroyed." Fox reported.

There were several colorful curses from Master Hand. "Alright, I'm sending a transporter. Stay there."

Fox and Diddy waited in silence for a while before they heard a squawk. The ostrich was flying towards them, Donkey Kong on its back still. In his great hands was a bundle that flopped limply.

"What's that, DK?" Diddy asked. DK frowned. Fox looked away.

"A friend." was all he said. Diddy stared, wide-eyed at the bundle in DK's hands. The ostrich disappeared into the device, and Team Five was left to wait for their ride.

_Just how many more will we lose before it's over?_ Was all Fox could think to himself.

* * *

Well, I'm not too proud of my battle scenes... I need to work on those, I guess.

Ike: Indeed, milady.

Pit: Everyone who doesn't know or hasn't done it yet, you should go vote at the authoress's poll! And/or review, yeah!

Ike: Alas, milady must get off and get some sleep. Read and Review and save me from Pit, please?


	13. Battle: Falling From the Sky

Alright, who else is unhappy about the recent delay for Brawl?

Roy: I'd say me, but chances are very likely that I won't be in it.

Link: Me! I want to see what happens further on in Subspace Emissary!

Marth: But still, it brings the excitement level up even further?

Yeah, I guess. Gives me more time to get myself a wii so I can play it the day it comes out!

Roy: I agree. Anyways, the Authoress doesn't own nothing except hr OCs and Desert. She may tell you otherwise.

Fox: Now, Chapter 13 begins!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Battle: Falling From the Sky**

* * *

"Hurry!" Falco gritted his teeth as he cursed to himself, trying to land on the back of the giant ship while avoiding the dangerous laser fire. Young Link's eyes were wide, his teeth chattering as his entire body shook. Marth frowned as he looked out the window.

"This doesn't look good at all." He stated. Katan, who was gripping onto a pole that provided support for a stander in the transporter, gave him and Pit a weak smile.

"We can do it." She stated. There wasn't a strong feeling of commitment behind her words however.

"Hey, I just saw something!" Pit cried. In a flash, he was out the open side of the transporter, gliding away.

Falco cursed, swerving away. Young Link gave a shocked cry, and watched the angel like boy float away into the laser fire, somehow managing to avoid it all. He landed on the clouds, not noticing the ship turn and head back for him, for at his feet, was a trophy of Mario.

"Mario?" Pit questioned, picking up the trophy, only for it to slowly melt, revealing none other than Mario Mario.

"It's-a me, Mar- Pit?" Mario blinked, regaining himself. "Oh-a no! Where is-a Peach? And-a Link? And-a the others?"

"I don't know, Mr. Mario." Pit stated as the transporter hovered a ways away.

"Pi- Mario!?" Marth cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't-a know!" Mario tried to hurry over to the ship, only to find that he could not use his right leg. The Bullet Bill had injured his leg badly. Pit picked the plumber up without a word, Marth running out to help him. They finally got Mario in.

The transporter took off towards the giant ship, easily landing on the head of the ship. "Perfect!" Falco laughed with relief.

"I will-a watch the transporter." Mario volunteered immediately. In his condition, he'd stay there, transporter or not. The group jumped out, except Mario.

"There's an extra headset in that cupboard, as long with several blasters. Please don't get the transporter destroyed." Falco pleaded, putting his headset on. The rest of Team Four followed his lead, turning the headsets on and adjusting them as they need.

"Alright, see you-a guys later! Good-a luck!" Mario waved, closing the transporter door. The five turned, ready to sprint down the length of the ship to the first flight deck. But before they could take off, two figures transported in front of them.

Link fell over. "Holy- What the hell?"

Lucas gasped air, and fell over, exhausted. "Lucas!" Young Link gasped. He grabbed the unconscious boy and began dragging him to the transporter. "Mario, open the door!"

As the transporter door slowly opened, Katan and Marth stepped in, easily lifting the boy between them. They carried him into the transporter, laying him down on a bench. Turning, Katan turned to Young Link with a worried look. "Young Link, could you stay here to help Mario?" Katan asked.

"But I want to come with you!" Young Link stated stubbornly.

"Mario can't look after Lucas and the ship on his own." Marth frowned.

"Don't-a worry Marth, Katan, I can-a do it." Mario waved them off. "Go with-a speed." He closed the door before the two sword-wielding smashers could complain.

"Alright then, let's go." The six dashed forward.

"What happened, Link?" Katan demanded as the six scrambled over the first of several obstacles.

"Mario, Kirby, Zelda, and Peach were surprise attacked. Something was wrong with Lucas when it happened, so I was trying to figure out what was wrong. Next thing I knew, there were these… _Things _everywhere. A giant plant thing caged Zelda and Peach, but Kirby defeated it. Mario disappeared somewhere during this time, and then… Wario showed up."

"Wario?" Marth asked.

"Mario's greatest rival. He… turned Zelda into a statue." Link paused here for a moment before continuing. "Then Lucas transported us out of there, and we were stuck in some other world till a few minutes ago." Link explained. He then slipped, but managed to keep his balance. "What th-"

On the ground were two backpacks, their contents taken. "These were… Mario and Zelda's… Kirby and Peach must have been here!" Link exclaimed.

"They must be on board then, unless they got help." Katan stated. Falco, who had ignored the bags, called out a "hurry up" to them over the headset.

The six soon found their way to the first flight deck. However, there was no entrance. With a few irritated sighs, they continued on. Before Team Four knew it, they were at the end of the ship, at the final flight deck. This deck was damaged, as though something had hit it. It was just what they needed, however.

Link stuffed a bomb into a crack, and soon, a nice semi-wide hole was waiting for its entrants. "Well, they're sure to know we're on board now." Falco jumped down first, followed by Link. Pit had a bit of a tight squeeze, his fragile wings narrowly missing getting caught on the sharp metal protruding from the sides of the hole. Young Link followed Pit, and they set up the first defense; they had projectiles, whereas Katan and Marth did not.

Katan and Marth came next, both getting their armor and capes caught on the sharp metal, but there were no injuries except to their capes. So far so good.

The group ran helter-skelter through the hallways, lost as could be. No enemies emerged to fight them, leaving all six tense and ready to strike, yet not so tense that they would endanger their own lives or that of their friends.

Locked doors to either side of them gave no means of direction as well. They ended up having to follow the route using only the sense of direction that told them which way was which; forward, to the front of the ship, and backward, to the back of the ship. However, this sense of direction was quickly lost, with the twisting hallways. There never seemed to be corners; everything seemed to be rounded. Everything appeared to be the same. Even the distance between doors to either side was the same. Eventually, the six lost smashers began to wonder if they would even be able to tell up from down.

Finally, a break in the winding corridor came; the first real corner. Falco held up a hand, silencing the other six from their semi-noisy movement. Katan and Marth were frozen in fear of any clanking armor; unlike Marth, Katan had not worn armor for several years and was greatly out of practice in stealth; if she had dared wear armor in Desert, she would have roasted to death in the scorching heat. Marth had borrowed some armor from Roy's father long ago as his own armor had worn out. It was fairly identical to his old armor, give or take a few scratches, dents, or marks, but Marth had never practiced his own stealth in the armor.

Young Link, Link, and Pit drew their bows, Falco his blaster. He paused before motioning to Young Link.

"Give me your sword, kid." Falco hissed under his breath. Young Link obediently handed the Kokiri Sword over to the avian with a slight look of distaste at being separated with his only sword evident on his face. Falco polished the blade on his jacket, not caring as a neat hole was soon sliced into the old thing. He then carefully held the sword so that he could see the reflection of what was around the corner without fear of being seen quickly.

Like a flash, he drew the blade back, quickly handing the blade back to Young Link, who smirked. He readied his blaster, and signaled to the other three to ready their bows. Katan carefully, with exaggerated caution to noise, drew out four small throwing knives, handing two to Marth as quietly as she could. Fortunately, she wasn't totally out of practice in staying quiet.

The six lined up at an angle, some not so sure if they would hit their targets. Marth then came up with an idea. He handed the throwing knives back to Katan, who gave him a puzzled look. He grinned wickedly, and drew forth a motion-sensor bomb from his pack. Link saw this, and he too drew forth an idea. Soon, a motion-sensor bomb was attached to his arrow, and he was having Young Link do the same. Katan attached one to a larger throwing knife while Pit and Falco oversaw everything, unable to attach motion-sensing bombs to their projectiles. Soon, they lined up again.

Tense, they waited for Falco's signal. His hand was raised in the air, and soon, it fell.

Without a sound, the line swung outwards, and the six nearly faltered as they saw a hallway filled to the max with the strange, sandbag like creatures Master Hand had called Primids.

Motion-sensors were activated and launched, Link and Young Link's getting as far as halfway over the crowd. The Primids were moving forward, slowly due to the lack of space. Katan's bomb took out the first several ranks, Link and Young Link's taking out parts of the middle and back. The Primids that survived continued on none-the-less. They soon hit Marth's motion-sensing bomb that blew more to their deaths. Light Arrows were flying from Pit's bow, laser beams from Falco's blaster. But still, the horde continued forwards.

While Falco kept up long distance, dispatching the back ranks, the other five began fighting the front ranks. Pit had broken his bow into two short-swords, and was slashing everywhere. Four longswords swiped and killed with practiced ease. Swords flashed and clashed into one another, since there was not enough space for all five of the sword-wielding smashers.

"Pit! Young Link! Help with Long-Range!" Falco commanded without breaking his concentration. Instantly, Pit's swords were reunited back into a bow, and Young Link dropped back, pulling out his own bow and another motion-sensing bomb. Another explosion wreaked havoc on the middle ranks, as the three sword-wielding smashers fought forward, easier now that there was more room.

"Move back a moment, guys!" Katan ordered, concentrating on something. Marth and Link did so, immediately launching motion-sensing bombs into the ranks further away. As the Primids seemed to surround Katan, Marth and Link began to panic. But then something unusual happened.

A creature rose from the ranks, spitting pure fire into the Primids, burning many. Its strong, black scales were invincible against the futile attacks from the Primids. An enormous double-pronged tail crushed a few of the sandbag creatures against the walls before it barreled forward, knocking the rest down like so many bowling pins. Many more were crushed in this style.

"Its… Katan's dragon form…!" Marth gawked. Link punched his shoulder lightly before attacking the surviving Primids, as though telling the navy swordsman to pay attention to the job at hand.

After another several minutes of battling the creatures, they seemed to stop their attack and retreat down the hall. The dragon returned to the Smashers and began to shrink. Katan soon wobbled before them before collapsing. Marth and Link managed to catch the exhausted and heavily damaged smasher between them.

"Maxim Tomato!" Marth called. Young Link appeared at his side with the needed tomato. Soon, Katan was strong enough to stand and fight again.

"How did you do that?" Link asked in amazement. Katan smiled.

"I tried that Smash Ball thing." She replied. "It seemed like a good moment, and it was."

Falco nodded. "Alright, I guess the only thing we can do is follow them. Let's go."

The six stepped over and around the bodies of the dead Primids, which were rapidly turning into a strange purple sand-like substance and sinking into the floor. Finally, the six came to a strange door. Several symbols were inscribed into the door. Katan blinked.

"Hey… That's Captain Izu's native language." She spoke quietly. 'It says "Those Who Enter, Be Prepared For Death.'"

"Alright, Katan, you can have my smash ball incase we need you to do this again." Marth handed over his smash ball. "How about I open the door and you guys fire all you can into the room if there's enemies in there?"

"Alright. Go ahead, Marth. Make sure to move to the right once you open the door. And move fast." Falco drew his blaster. Once again bows were drawn, arrows notched, and throwing knives aimed. Marth pulled the door open and jumped to the side as though the Grim Reaper stood before him. But rather, it was a princess.

Link gasped. "Zelda!"

Team Three's transporter appeared from the clouds, tailing the giant ship they had come to associate with the enemy. Zero-Samus was steering the awkward transporter now, while Captain Falcon studied the ship, face hidden behind his helmet. Red was nervously rolling a poke' ball around in his hand while Ness sat beside him, playing with his Yo-yo, mind obviously trying to search out the others. Kirby looked to where Peach was clinging to Luigi with large sobs for the lost Mario. Luigi wasn't outright sobbing, but looked as though he wished to join the princess in her laments. Kirby turned and looked out at the huge ship, Jigglypuff at his side.

"Wait… I know that ship." He realized with a start, his eyes running over the layout of it.

"You do?" Zero-Samus turned and gave Kirby an annoyed look. This Samus was much different from the old Samus, personality wise. "Well?"

"It's the _Halberd_, my rival's ship!" Kirby exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "MetaKnight!"

"Who's that?" Jigglypuff and Red voiced at the same time, curiosity heavily laced through their voices.

"My rival. I don't think he would, or could be evil though!" Kirby argued as Captain Falcon's face hardened. "He taught me a lot of my tricks and often helped me."

"What makes you so sure he's still good?" Zero-Samus growled, turning the transporter so it got a bit closer to the _Halberd_.

"He's a Star Warrior like myself. He _can't _be evil." Kirby retorted. Ness, who had been silent until now, agreed.

"Star Warriors seem to be incapable of being what we call 'evil.'" Ness stated. "I have a feeling this is the only connection your friend, or rival I mean, has to this operation. For all we know, he could be as much a casualty in this war as… well…" Ness nodded silently over to Peach, who was finally wiping her tears away.

"That's true. Then Kirby, you'll-" Captain Falcon started to ask Kirby when the transporter jerked. Warning lights flashed across the switchboard where Zero-Samus hissed in irritation.

"We've been hit!" she began trying to keep the transporter stabilized. They had been too busy debating MetaKnight's placement in the battle that no one had noticed the strange arm reach out of the ship overhead and whip at the wing of the transporter. Immediately, they began to loose altitude as the _Halberd_ began to fire at them.

Luigi dashed from where he was sitting next to Peach to close the hatch to the outside world, only for the arm to whip at the transporter again. With a startled yelp, he fell from the Heavens, disappearing through a gap in the thick clouds.

"No! Luigi!" Peach screamed, more tears gracing her face. Captain Falcon took over the controls while Samus used her grapple beam to pull the door shut safely. Once again, the transporter was whipped and sent spiraling after Luigi.

"Ness! We need you!" Captain Falcon roared. Ness had been trying to use his psychic powers to stop Luigi's descent, but he was going too fast and getting further away every second. It was certainly not as easy as shields. With a strangled, painful cry, Ness broke his last connection with the younger Mario brother and threw his hands up, causing the transporter to slow in its descent.

"Hurry… Land… Can't… Hold… Very long…" Ness gritted his teeth, knees trembling dangerously as though he were holding a large weight up above him.

"Charizard! Go!" Red threw a poke' ball, causing a strong, healthy Charizard to roar forth. Without a word of command, it threw open the hatch and was outside. Ness cried out as he lost his grip on the transporter, but outside, Charizard was doing a great job of slowing the descent by grabbing onto the top of the transporter. Opening its large wings, the air caught instantly, creating two more wings to stabilize the transporter in its deadly descent. They cleared the cloud layer, coming out above the jungle. The transporter glided, with the help of the fire poke'mon, towards a clearing.

Three figures sat in this clearing, looking towards the skies. "Hey, look!" Diddy broke the silence that had hung over the three since DK's return with Yoshi's body. Fox and DK turned their heads towards a slowly descending transporter that was most definitely smoking.

"They're in trouble!" Fox growled. "Clear the area of those banana's now!" He ordered. Donkey Kong gave a roar, but did not start pushing the Banana Bomb cart away. Instead, he followed the transporter's descent.

"DK! No!" Diddy yelped. DK stood right where the transporter was about to crash, and lifting his giant arms, caught the large smoking ship like a large box and set it down so it would not run into the cart of bombs.

A Charizard sat on top, roaring out a huge ball of flame to the skies as smoke billowed around it. The triumphant poke'mon turned a clear-ish red color, and soon disappeared back into its poke' ball. Red gave a triumphant cheer, Charizard's poke' ball raised in the air as the other six smashers piled out of the transporter.

"DK! That was a great move!" Fox commented, running to the other smashers. "What's your status, guys?"

"Well, you can see our transporter. We lost Luigi, however." Captain Falcon shook his head. "The poor guy was just trying to shut the hatch…"

Fox spotted Kirby and Peach with a sigh of relief. "Well, that's… part of three teams accounted for. Any word on the others?"

"No." Captain Falcon turned his head towards the soft peach-colored clouds that were growing darker by the minute. "I can only hope they're okay."

"Well, might as well wait for our ride back." Fox sighed. "We lost Yoshi for sure. The enemy took Pikachu and Pichu, my Arwing was destroyed, and we ran into a strange poke'mon creature.

Reunited, the three teams shared their sorrow for the lost Smashers as they awaited news or more of the others.

* * *

So... A cliffhanger in the middle of the story. Don't Worry, I won't leave you guys hanging too long.

Pit: She added a battle scene in the next chapter, so it will be a bit longer than it was!

Ike: Its also the most dramatic chapter in the whole... well... story.

Pichu: Next time, the Final Battle! Primid Boss versus Team Four and friends!

Pit: Don't miss it!

Ike: Two chapters left of this story.

Pichu: Review Please!


	14. Resolution: Saying Goodbye

Well, this is it!

Roy: The Final Battle against the final boss! Woo!

Marth: ...

Link: Oh come on Marth, don't be a spoil sport.

Fox: Well, we won't delay at all today. Authoress doesn't own anything but her OCs and Desert.

Roy: Warning! Character Death!

* * *

**Chapter 14: Resolution: Saying Goodbye **

* * *

Zelda stood in the middle of a stage, looking for the entire world like an ethereal statue. She was elegant, very lady-like, and quite fragile. She stared straight ahead, a solemn look in her eyes that almost seemed to cry out in sadness, yet were as silent as a new dawn. To either side of her were a similar statue of Pikachu and a statue of Pichu. Pikachu was smiling, eyes bright, his arms on his tummy, tail poised to the left towards the silent princess. Pichu looked equally happy to see the smashers, though he really couldn't; one ear was down slightly in a goofy manner, his tiny black tail to the right, also pointing towards the princess. 

"Pichu!" Katan cried out, horrified. Young Link sobbed as he saw all three of his friends in their frozen state.

"Zelda!" Link dashed forward, forgetting all care except for his princess. This was a terrible mistake. A barred door fell, separating Link from the other five. They cried out in alarm, banging on the door.

Link did not realize this, or chose not to; instead, he kicked the Trophy stand, causing the Princess to wobble and fall into his arms with a shocked cry.

"Link!" She gasped as her strange statue-like trance was ended. Pikachu and Pichu were released as well from their frozen states, where they fell down in shock at being able to move once again. They blinked at the reunion before running to where their friends were banging on the cage door, squeezing easily through the bars into worried open arms.

"Pichu!" Katan scooped the tiny baby mouse up into her arms where he proceeded to sob.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was getting those banana bombs…" Pikachu screwed his face up. "Wait…"

"LINK! ZELDA!" Marth cried out, but it was too late. The two had been too busy apologizing for not protecting one another, that they hadn't realized a large statue had come to life, a huge sword in its hands. Link turned his head in shock, but it was too late.

Katan screamed as the huge sword went straight though Link and Zelda's midriffs, their bodies connected in a terrible death. Yet inspite of their sudden ending, a look of peace, joy, and love was still on their faces as they both died in each other's arms. Young Link joined his own scream of frantic terror and grief with that of Katan's.

"No!" Marth wanted to turn away, but refused to do so, watching his two first friends in the Smash Mansion die together, linked forever in death.

Falco bowed his head as Link and Zelda's bodies both slid off of the giant sword, their crimson blood intermingling and splattering as they hit the ground with sickening thuds. Then, much to the horrified amazement of the seven still alive, Link and Zelda's bodies turned into pure golden light, slowly mixing with the current light and disappearing forever.

Young Link let out a choked sob before Falco turned away. "Let's get out of here, there's nothing further we can do." The killer of their friends returned to its place, without even the satisfaction of blood remaining on its blade. The choked up smashers turned to see Falco looking a strange box-like contraption. Before Link had run into the room, he had sunken the Master Sword into this strange contraption that just so happened to control the ship.

"I don't think you guys are going anywhere." A familiar voice met the ears of the smashers. They turned and looked down the hallway.

"No… Way…" Marth choked more.

"Its amazing what the Primids can do." The figure smirked.

"No…" Katan gasped, tears running down her face. "Lu…"

Luan stood in the middle of the hallway, a cocky smirk on his face. "Not happy to see me, sis? Even though I discovered how to make you into your most powerful form?"

"You're not Luan." Katan hissed abruptly. "Luan didn't care about power."

"Hm, you're right." Luan's form seemed to blur and not take on any particular shape.

"Eula?" Marth too hissed.

"No, he's dead. _You_ made sure of that." The thing hissed. "No. You don't know me. But I know you."

Katan narrowed her eyes as the figure took on a more defined shape. The man was tall with dark brown hair and cruel violet eyes. He wore no shirt, showing a large sword scar on his lean stomach. His pants were made of a strange material that closely resembled dragon scales. On his feet were heavy leather boots. A leather strap running across his well-defined chest held a huge claymore to his back.

"You're… Demetri." Katan hissed. The man raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know, child?" Demetri allowed a cruel grin to split his features.

"Izu told me about you." Katan narrowed her eyes. "Why wouldn't he? You're the one that killed him, after all."

Marth and Falco hissed, remembering the fateful day they had crash-landed on Desert; when Izu had entered the tent, and Nix had begun to introduce him as having died from being stabbed, only for him to tell of his father killing him with a poisoned sword.

"Ah, so you met my brat of a son." Demetri grinned cruelly. "I hope he enjoyed that poison, or his sister having to sit and watch him die. They deserved it, after all."

"No!" Marth yelled abruptly. "You sick ba-" Demetri had disappeared, only to reappear, his hand neatly knocking the wind out of Marth. The others backed off warily, leaving Demetri to turn to them, Marth effectively de-winded.

"Anyone else have any smart remarks?" Demetri still had the cruel smile on his face. "I hope you enjoyed watching your little friends die just now. I know I did."

"You…" Falco began to hiss, but a touch to the shoulder from Pit stopped it.

"Why are you doing this?" Pit asked, keeping himself levelheaded.

"Why?" Demetri's voice fell to a deep, silky bass sound that tickled their ears in disgusting delight. "Because, I want power. As you may know…" Demetri patted his stomach, "My son killed me as I tried to gain power last time. And I killed him in return. Likewise, I shall kill all of you for standing in my way."

Katan grit her teeth. "You terrible creature, you don't deserve to live." She growled. She drew her nameless sword and held it in front of her. "Prepare to die."

Demetri's eyes gleamed in delight. "Oh, a battle? What a delight! Ju-" The sound of steel on steel rang through the air as Katan launched herself forward. Demetri drew his claymore with frightening speed, blocking the attack. "You can't hurt me! No matter how sharp your blade is, little dragon, I am a God!" Little did he know, Marth had regained his breath. Back on his feet, Marth drew Falchion and swung his sword in a downwards arc. The tip of Falchion sliced neatly across Demetri's arm, causing crimson blood to fly.

"What! That's impossible!" Demetri roared, throwing Katan back with a nice swipe.

Smashers and enemy alike laid eyes on Marth. His face was shadowed, and in his hands, Falchion was glowing an eerie blue. On the end of the hilt, Samus's old bracelet dangled, glowing an electric purple as well. Demetri let out a terrible caterwaul.

"Damn you!" he swung the huge claymore at Marth, who threw Falchion up just in time to block the attack. He was pushed into the wall, letting out another dangerous breath of air. Young Link shot several silver arrows at the man, but oddly, they bounced right off. Pikachu let loose a thunderbolt that wrapped around the man, yet left him unaffected. He laughed cruelly.

"Katan, use your Smash Ball again! Normal attacks won't work!" Pit was glowing blue as well, the rainbowy ball disappearing into his arm causing him to begin to glow a pure gold color. His eyes turned a fiery red, and a deity of a beautiful woman appeared behind him. With a roar, Pit cried out. "Final Smash! Come, my Centurions! Let us join in battle once again!"

An army of tiny fairy-like men appeared, flying through the air in a suicide mission against the Primid Boss. They would shoot a single burning arrow at him, each piercing his thick skin like needles. They would then fall to the ground and puff out of existence, like so many bees.

Falco too took out his Smash Ball. Using it, his blaster became what looked to be a normal beam sword. With a shrug, Falco launched himself at Demetri, faster than ever, Beam Sword in hand. "Final Smash! Falcon Beam!" With an aerial roll, sword out, Falco sliced through the end of Demetri's claymore like a hot knife through half melted butter. Demetri neatly avoided the rest of the beam sword, dodging to the side as Marth came at him again with Falchion.

Instead of returning to safety however, he ran straight into two twin balls of pure electricity. Pichu and Pikachu attached themselves to either arm and shocked the man with all the electricity they could gain from the Smash Ball. The man roared in pain, unlike their last attempt. They bounced away before he could smash their fragile mouse-like bodies into the wall, thus ending attack and possibly life. He turned to confront Falco, only to get a face-full of fire; Katan roared, reaching out with a clawed front paw, talons gleaming crimson after a well-aimed slash to the sword arm. Demetri was then thrown into the ceiling, where two triforce symbols held him. Young Link had his Kokiri Sword drawn, the Smash Ball's energy forced into it. He slashed what seemed to be a hundred times before falling back to the ground.

Demetri fell to the ground with an enraged roar. He swung his broken claymore, a burst of wind energy flying out of it, neatly knocking Pichu, Falco, Pikachu, Young Link, and Katan back. Katan roared in pain as a black wing snapped neatly, her right front leg mirroring it perfectly. She transformed back, her sword arm broken. He turned, using the wind energy to send Marth flying into the wall. Marth hit the wall with a loud bang, and crumpled to the ground, where he didn't move.

"Is that the best you can do!?" Demetri screeched with joy. He was quite injured alright, but he seemed to be getting a kick out of the pain. "I guess that's alright though! If you killed m-"

Demetri let out a horrified screech as a familiar blade forced its way through his stomach. Falchion seemed to glow even greater with Marth's pain and rage. He didn't notice as Demetri's claymore glowed with a deadly purple color. Katan and Pikachu, both recovered enough to see the immediate danger, rushed forward, their faces horrified.

"MARTH! MO-" for the second time that day, the timing was too slow. The blade seemed to explode, sending Marth flying with several terrible crunching noises against the unyielding wall, Katan with her own cracking noises against the other wall. Pikachu was crushed as the ceiling caved in overhead, a section of the roof falling on him. He didn't return. The others were thrown through the air, landing upon one another or sprawled across the floor. The resulting smoke was thrown through the hole in the ceiling, the darkening purple sky peeking through.

Katan came to her senses quickly. Looking about, she saw the other Smashers slowly sitting up, moans of pain being issued where they were due. She turned and saw a broken golden tail shaped as a thunderbolt sticking out from under a chunk of steel; then she saw Marth. Katan's body screamed in pain; she could not feel parts of her lower body as she somehow managed to crawl painfully to where Marth's scorched body lay, broken and tattered.

"Ma-arth." Katan managed to gasp. She touched the ex-prince's burnt face, causing him to twitch and cough up a large amount of blood. "You can't die Marth. Not now… Not here…"

"T-tell S-s-s-Samus I lo-love her." Marth managed to gasp. A strange sucking noise was emanating from his armor. Katan squeezed her eyes shut, recognizing the tell-tale signs of a pierced lung. Tears stung at her eye lids, and she opened them to Marth's sad face.

"No, you can't go Marth." Katan sobbed. "You can't…"

"I… I'm sorry Kat… You're a… great friend… Tell Roy he's a good friend… and Link… no… Link's gone too… Tell Samus I'm sorry I won't be there when… when…" Marth coughed more blood, not finishing his sentence. "I… see Zelda… and Link… Pikachu too… They're here to take me with… them… They say good bye too. Katan… Tell S-S-Samus I…" The ex-prince breathed shallowly several more times, and then gave a soft, strangled sigh. The Ex-Prince of Altea was no more.

Katan let out a pained wail. The death keen of a dragon brought the others to their senses. Pichu began mourning the loss of his fellow lightning poke'mon, who was being rescued from his heavy prison by Falco. Pit hurried over to Katan's side, seeing that both her legs, her sword arm, and her back was broken. Young Link didn't seem to be looking at anything as he pulled the Master Sword out of the control panel. The five were going to be in shock for a very long while. And still, the dragon cried.

* * *

Mario had heard a lot of what was going on inside the ship; from the attack on the Primids, Katan's transformation, the finding of Zelda, Pikachu, and Pichu, Link and Zelda's deaths, the meeting of a mysterious man named Demetri, the battle against him, the deaths of Pikachu and Marth, and the death keen of Katan. The hole where the roof had been blown off was within sight as well, smoke still slowly drifting lazily away from it. The ship was loosing altitude as the Master Sword drained its power. It would eventually crash. With a pained sigh, he turned to Lucas.

"Lucas, call-a Master Hand. We-a need reinforcements immediatly." Mario sighed.

"They're already on their way." Lucas informed, pain heavy on his voice. "We lost four, huh?"

"Yes-a." Mario looked outside, spotting the reinforcement team as they appeared from the clouds. "I-a fear for-a the worst."

* * *

Team Two had waited for Master Hand's signal with worry. Master Hand hadn't informed them on anything that was happening. Roy worriedly tapped on the hilt of his sword. Samus silently drove the transporter, keeping it well hidden within the clouds. Popo and Nana were quietly discussing something, and Doctor Mario was wringing his hands with worry. Ike was first to hear Master Hand's summons.

"Master Hand wants us on the ship's head immediately." Ike reported. Roy's heart froze.

Samus silently gave the transporter a boost, and soon, they were above the clouds and heading for the ship. They passed over the silent ship, as it seemed to be falling slowly towards the ground. Directing the transporter towards the head, Team Two could easily see Team Four's transporter lying abandoned near a hole where smoke was rising.

As they neared, they spotted Young Link being pushed out of this hole, followed by a bundle wrapped in a blanket. Pichu appeared then, and the two younger smashers, with pained faces, looked up to the oncoming transporter before turning to the blood-stained bundle. Lucas and a hobbling Mario appeared from the other transporter. Falco soon appeared, his face stone.

Landing quickly, the fresh team jumped out. "Where's Katan?" Roy asked quickly.

Falco sighed. "She's badly injured. Pit's bringing her out."

Sure enough, Pit was flapping his wings hard, lifting Katan from the hole and laying her down on the ship's top, where she gave a cry of pain and misery. Immediately, she continued to keen her song of loss as Roy gave a cry of terror and ran to her side. Samus appeared, her face unknown behind her helmet. Falco's face became even harder as Pit descended into the hole again.

"Where's Marth?" Samus asked. Falco turned his head away, causing Samus's eyes to widen. "No…"

Pit reappeared, lifting a cape-wrapped bundle. Blue hair dangled from one end, a golden tiara tangled within the navy locks.

"No!" Samus cried, rushing to meet the struggling angel. Throwing her helmet off, she pulled Marth's body from his grip, much to Pit's relief. Pit descended one last time to retrieve Katan and Marth's swords, not wanting to face the pain any longer.

Samus rapidly unwrapped the cape, revealing Marth's burnt face. He seemed to be sleeping almost, if it weren't for the damage to his face and the rest of his body. Roy looked up, crying out as he spotted his friend. If it weren't for Katan, he would have been with Samus and the lost Marth.

"We also lost Link and Zelda." Roy then overheard Falco saying to Mario. Roy spotted the blue avian, whose head was bowed in defeat. "Otherwise, we were successful. We fought the leader… apparently only Smash Balls could harm him, though Marth was somehow able to do without… Marth then… killed the leader, but that turned out to be suicidal. Katan and Pikachu recognized the danger and went to save him, but it was too late. They were thrown against the walls by an explosion… I guess Marth's lung was pierced and Pikachu was crushed. Katan broke several bones…"

A loud, painful wail broke loose. Everyone turned to see Samus bury her face against Marth and Katan's capes that bound Marth's prone body. Icy shivers ran throughout the group of Smashers as some strange bond allowed them to feel Samus's pain.

"R-Roy… is… that you…?" Katan wheezed. Roy turned back to Katan to see her staring at the sky, eyes dull. Her lip quivered, tears rolling steadily down the sides of her dirty face. Her keening was still going on, deep in her throat, which was quickly growing sore.

"Yes, Kat, its me. Shh, now, we'll get you to safety soon." Roy murmured to her as Doctor Mario bent down and gave a quick examination. He gave her a soft kiss, and she stopped keening, swallowing painfully.

"Broken back, in two places. Her right tibia and fibula are shattered, the tibia on her left leg as well. Right humerus shattered as well. Second-degree burns on her arms, neck, and face…" Doctor Mario shook his head. "That's all I can tell for now. She shouldn't have been moved, but what's past is past."

Falco closed his eyes for a moment, turning his head skywards while Mario watched the clouds pass by. Ike stood respectfully behind Samus, his eyes closed in silent respect for the fallen swordsman and the mourning bounty hunter. Young Link sat against Team Four's transporter, Lucas next to him, offering word of condolence while Nana wrapped her arms around the young hylians, offering her own words of comfort. Popo and Pichu sat in vigil around the bundle of Falco's jacket where their crushed friend lay in silent death. Pit joined Roy, Katan, and Doctor Mario.

"We must leave. The ship will crash, and we'll just loose more lives." Pit spoke sadly.

"Right. Ike, please help Samus with Marth. Doctor Mario, I'll leave Katan to you. Can anyone control a transporter?" Mario raised his hand. "Alright, you control a transporter. We need to move people." Falco took command, though it pained him to see looks of unhappiness and pain on his friends' faces.

Samus could not lift Marth on her own, no matter how she tried. Though she wanted to move him on her own, she finally gave into Ike's silent gaze and allowed him to help. They lifted his body into one of the transporters. Doctor Mario retrieved an emergency stretcher and with Roy and Pit's help, lifted Katan onto it where she again burst into tears from pain and loss. Roy and Pit then lifted the stretcher and carried it into the same transporter as Samus and Ike had gone to. Falco went to pick up Pikachu, but saw that Popo had already done it while Pichu wailed, sparks flying uncontrolled from his cheeks.

"Pichu, calm down!" Falco pleaded, unused to having to deal with the younger Smashers. Nana picked up the baby mouse with soft murmurings, calming the devastated poke'mon down. She followed the silent Young Link into the other transporter, followed by Lucas and Falco. Pit emerged from one transporter and went to the other, to even out the numbers. Mario followed Pit, and soon, the Transporter was loaded. Falco sighed, carrying Falchion and Katan's sword into the transporter where they lay in death and pain. Doctor Mario was again at Katan's side, Samus still mourning her lover's death.

Falco sighed, slipping into the pilot seat. With that, the two transporters took off, leaving the ship as its descent began to pick up. Ten minutes later, the ship fell to the ground, where the explosion could be seen from far away.

* * *

One Week Later 

The Smash Mansion had been in various states of disrepair when the tattered Smashers had returned to its comfortable folds. Master Hand, though just as devastated as the Smashers at their losses, had cleaned the place up. The injured had been sent to the hospital wing, some for longer stays than others. No one wanted to be alone. Soon, the remaining Smasher population had removed themselves to the hospital wing, creating a safe haven for the injured, both mentally and physically.

The death total was six of the twenty-nine who had set out originally, plus Crazy Hand's disappearance. Yoshi had been slashed across the throat; Luigi's body, recovered by Master Hand, had been gruesome, and only his close friends and family were allowed to see him. Mario was devastated at the loss of his younger brother and the green dinosaur that had always been there to help him, even before becoming smashers. Link and Zelda's bodies were never recovered, as they had disappeared immediately after their deaths. Pikachu's skull had been smashed, causing his brain to be cut and smashed as well. A punctured lung killed Marth.

For a while, Doctor Mario was unsure as to whether or not Katan would pass on to join her six fellow departed smashers as well. A broken rib had scratched her heart, and she was slowly fading. But much to his amazement, the scratch healed quickly, and she began her long road to recovery.

Fox, to his amazement, had been suffering from a concussion from his crash-landing. Two of his fingers were badly broken, yet he had not noticed the entire time. He recovered quickly. Pichu and Young Link suffered from first and second degree burns while Falco's feathers had protected him. Pit had not only crushed part of his fragile right wing, he had also strained the muscles, and would not be able to fly for some time. Red's Charizard suffered similar strains in his wings, as well as several pulled muscles. Donkey Kong managed to pull a leg muscle in catching the falling transporter, though it didn't keep him off his feet. Ness and Lucas were psychically exhausted, and slept for days before awakening.

It had been a whole week since the day the Smashers had fought the Primids, and won. Master Hand floated into the Hospital Wing, where extra beds had been set up. Not a single Smasher didn't have a haunted look to their dull, tired eyes. Some hadn't said so much as a word since the battle, such as Samus or Young Link. Nana and Popo didn't leave Young Link's side once. Pichu, though torn up from his loss of his fellow mouse, stayed with Roy and Katan, not wanting to part with them for a moment. Pit helped Doctor Mario by running errands, finding things, or whatever he could without using his delicate wings. Red also had his poke'mon helping. Charizard could heat water that his Squirtle would spit into a bowl, and Ivysaur could use its vines to lift whole beds without awakening or moving its occupant. This came especially helpful when Doctor Mario needed to move Katan.

One night, the night of the full moon, Doctor Mario used a special technique he had learned during his time away to safely heal Katan's broken back. She would now be safe to use a wheel chair, and eventually, crutches.

The day after this happened Master Hand decided it was time for a very important matter. It was gently raining the day he summoned the Smashers, giving each a black box. "Please put these on." He asked gently. Upon looking into the boxes, the smashers found black clothing; funeral clothing. More tears were shared here as Smashers split to change. Peach accompanied Katan to help her.

Within half an hour, the smashers again were summoned; each wore their clothing; many wore black versions of their own clothes, such as Mario, Peach, Fox, Falco, Popo and Nana, Young Link, Donkey and Diddy Kong. Kirby's natural color was subdued to match the moment. Samus wore her clothes from Desert, which had been dyed black for the occasion. Roy and Ike wore black dress clothes Master Hand had secretly retrieved from the Fire Emblem world. Katan wore a black robe that allowed easy changing. Doctor Mario wore a black long coat, Captain Falcon, Ness, Red, and Lucas wore black jackets and slacks. Lucas and Ness wore their tennis shoes. Jigglypuff wore a black bow behind an ear, while Pit donned black robes from his home in the heavens. Katan wrapped a black scarf around the quiet Pichu's neck before holding him tight.

The procession was silent as they made their way to the silent gardens. Roy pushed Katan in a wheelchair, as she was too weak to try her crutches. Friends were close together, couples holding hands tight. Umbrellas were passed around and shared. Few words were shared.

They arrived in the gardens, sadness heavy upon the air. One grave already lay there; Mr. Game and Watch had been alone all this time in his earth-laden grave. Now he was to have eternal company.

Near to Mr. Game and Watch's grave, six caskets were laid out. Some of the more emotional Smashers could be heard breathing heavily. Someone could not hold back a sob however.

Master Hand hovered over the caskets. The Smashers gathered around, tears running down many faces. "Friends." He began. "Family. That was who these smashers were. They gave their lives to save their homes, their families, their friends, and the other worlds from certain destruction. They knew the dangers, and they faced them bravely. Now they lay, waiting to move on to the next world."

A horde of Peach's Toads appeared and soon, the six caskets were being lowered into their final resting place. The Toads retreated solemnly, standing off as one by one, each smasher came forward and began to bury their friends and family. Soon, six identical mounds lay in silence; four filled, two not.

"Mr. Game and Watch. Crazy Hand. Yoshi. Marth. Pikachu. Link. Zelda. And Luigi. These eight will never leave our memories, or those who to this day, are still missing." Master Hand sighed. "Because of these losses, the Smash Tournaments can go on no longer. A portal, to each of your homes, shall be created, and a device for each will be given. This device will allow you to communicate with anyone who also carries this device. Eventually, we shall have a reunion, but for now, wounds need to heal. I will, however, never disband the Super Smash Bros. Once a Smasher, always a smasher. This is not the end, but merely, a new beginning."

Sad eyes rose to watch Master Hand as his voice continued to grow strong. "For now, I will send each of you home with your communicators. Smashers…" he looked around one last time. "Dismissed."

* * *

Well, how'd you like it? 

Pit: Hmmm... Rather depressing, if you ask me.

Ike: I agree with Angel Boy.

Pichu: One more chapter after this! The Epilogue, of course.

I do plan, in order to tie up all the loose strings, to do a SHORT sequel that will take place oh... 15 years in the future? It won't be action-packed or anything, so please don't expect too much out of it.

Pit: Review please! The authoress would like to know what everyone thought of this chapter.

Ike: And we'll be back sooon with the epilogue. Review!


	15. Epilogue

Well, this is it, guys! Sorry for the slow update too, just got into a relationship myself.

Roy: Wow, this story sure has come a ways. And stop bragging

Marth: Indeed, that is has.

Link: Shall we reply to the reviews?

Indeed you shall.

Link: Alright. **Twilight BladerJulz, **the authoress would like to tell you thank you and that she's going to be checking out your story very soon...!

Roy: And she would also like to tell **RoyalFanatic** she'll keep working on her battle scenes and she wishes you luck in yours! And thanks for the review!

Marth: As for **Royal Kenya**, she asks to please not harpoon her, for the minisequal will explain everything! And that this epilogue will give a not-so-surprising twist at the end? For the author loves true love and all... Oh, and Link complains, but I think that might be irrelevent!

Fox: The authoress does not own anything except her OC's and Desert, and doesn't care if others use the Desert idea, just cause its spiffy and just another part of fanfiction.

Marth: Farewell everyone, and may you all enjoy this last chapter of All For One, One For All: Return!

Roy: Bye!

Link: So long!

Young Link: Onward!

****

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

Doctor Mario, Mario, and Peach returned to the Mushroom Kingdom after saying many painful good-byes to their fellow smashers. Peach passed on her job as princess to her fellow princess, Daisy. But Daisy too, passed on the leadership to another, as she too was devastated by the loss of Luigi. Doctor Mario and Mario went to Yoshi's Island during this time and told the King of Yoshies of Yoshi's death. Yoshi became a hero on the Island, and to this day, even the younger Yoshi's are in awe of the dinosaur. Upon returning to the mainland, Mario and Peach, along with Peach's three most loyal toads, Toadsworth, Toad, and Toadette, left to travel the Kingdom. Doctor Mario opened a clinic, treating Koopas, Goombas, Toads, Yoshis, and humans alike. Daisy, after much contemplating, became a nurse under Doctor Mario. Not a day passed that any of them didn't think of Yoshi, Luigi, Bowser, or the other Smashers.

* * *

Fox and Falco returned to the Great Fox after their dismissal. Fox and Krystal then left the team temporarily to begin a family while Katt and Falco flew throughout the galaxy in two new Arwings. Eventually, the four plus the rest of the StarFox team were reunited in Corneria, where they talked of old adventures, both against Andross and their adventures in being Smashers. Fox and Krystal had a son they named Kit, who, like his father before him, became a famous pilot. Unfortunately, all was not well for the entire team, for one year after their reunion, Katt was lost as her Arwing was crushed between two asteroids. Falco, devastated by his loss, became hard and withdrawn to all other than his closest friends. He became Kit's personal Arwing mentor, only after Falco grew to trust his own Arwing again. Not a night goes by he does not think of Katt, or the four he lost in battle under his command during the One-Day war.

* * *

Young Link returned to Hyrule, returning the Master Sword to its resting place in the Temple of Time. After a short break from life, hiding out in the Lost Woods, he then went in search of his other lost friends, and found them still safe at the sea with Ruto. The friends of Link, Young Link, and Zelda were all deeply devastated by the loss of Princess Zelda and the Hero of Time, Link. Only after they recovered did Saria try to rename Young Link 'Link,' but the younger look-a-like grew angry and left. The last time he was seen, he entered the Gerudo Desert in hopes of finding Ganondorf, his last thread that connected him to the Smashers from Hyrule, riding upon the strong back of Epona.

* * *

Popo and Nana tried to follow Young Link, but he left too fast. They then sadly returned to Icicle Mountain, where for a while, they continued their adventures in collecting eggplants and avoiding the giant Condor. Eventually, they returned to the Smash Mansion to make permanent residence there. It became common to see Nana tending to the graves everyday to make sure they were kept neat. Popo meanwhile fixed the old fountain that had not worked in many a year. To this day, they remain a lonely pair of twins, without even Crazy Hand to keep them company. Nana still wishes to see Young Link once more.

* * *

Captain Falcon returned to the racetrack, but found that it did not hold the joys it used to hold. He faked his death for the heck of it and then retired to Onett, where he joined the local police force. Ness and Lucas, who recently moved to Onett, were still archrivals, and were commonly seen duking it out, psychic style. Captain Falcon caught them at it once, but due to the fact that he was trying to catch two psychics, he almost let them go. But knowing how to deal with at least Ness, he caught them, and then let them go as they promised not to fight anymore. As if. It became common to see the Legendary Captain Falcon chasing two young boys from house top to house top. Eventually, it became a game between the three. It was through this that Lucas and Ness became good friends instead of bitter rivals.

* * *

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong returned to the Kong residence, only to find it had been blown up by Cranky Kong as he continued to make the banana bombs. Dixie and Wrinkly Kong were found to be throwing a fit at Cranky Kong while the rest of the Kong family were trying to put their home back together. With the help of Donkey and Diddy Kong, the house was fixed and put into good order. Donkey Kong celebrated a new home by sharing his bananas with his family and friends of the jungle. But there seemed to be something lacking in his eyes. He eventually overcame Yoshi's death and became the cheerful gorilla he once was.

* * *

Red and his poke'mon returned to Kanto, where Red continued his quest to become the greatest Poke'mon Master ever. Eventually, he succeeded in his quest, adding three other poke'mon to his ranks; a Pikachu, an Espeon, and a Snorlax as well as his Charizard, his Ivysaur (now a Venusaur) and his Squirtle (now a Blastoise). He made daily trips to Silver Mountain in Johto to study the strange, ghost like poke'mon that appeared there in the late hours of the night. He still lives at home with his mother, however, and his famous poke'mon are reduced to mere house workers (not that they minded, for his mother made the best poke'mon food in all of Kanto and Johto). He always wonders what happened to the two surviving talking poke'mon he had met during his short service under the Smashers.

* * *

Jigglypuff and Kirby traveled to Dreamland where they settled down and made a family. It became common in later years to see tiny pink puffs floating around, waiting for their parents to come retrieve them from the air. Later, Kirby ran into MetaKnight as well, whose first question was if Kirby knew the whereabouts of his ship, the _Halberd_. Kirby took MetaKnight back to his home, where he told MetaKnight about the fight. Jigglypuff filled in other parts that Kirby forgot. They talked late into the day. That was the last time the two puffs mentioned the battle for many years.

* * *

Zero-Samus disappeared quickly after the dismissal. No one heard head or blaster about her for nearly a decade before she abruptly returned to the Nintendo Galaxy. She claims to have traveled to an alternate universe, where the smashers who had made it were gone, leaving only those who were missing or dead in their own universe. She also claimed that the man, Demetri, enslaved the entire universe. She helped them gain their freedom before returning. She disappeared shortly later after going to check out what appeared to be a 'rip in space.' Many say this led to a black hole or even back to where she had come from.

* * *

Samus, still devastated by the loss of Marth, did not speak for a long time. She stayed with Roy, Katan, Pichu, and Ike while they awaited their turn to be taken home. She abruptly announced that she was pregnant with Marth's only child. Though Katan began doting on the Bounty Hunter, Samus left them. She took her ship and returned to Desert, where she was welcomed with open arms by Home's inhabitants. She reported the battle to Nix, though with more cold in her voice than Nix had ever heard from the once happy woman. She told Izu of Team Four's fight with his father, and Izu became outraged once again. He and Amina disappeared into the desert shortly later and never returned.

It was shortly after Izu's departure that Xennen reappeared. Though Samus could not understand him, she could at least tell he wished to take her away. She and Xennen disappeared within an hour. The people of Desert never saw Samus again, as Nix reported to Master Hand when the giant hand visited Desert after hearing of the strange occurrence of rebirth that took place on this world. Her ship was left for her incase of her return. Rumor told that she found Oasis thanks to Xennen, and Marth as well. When Ness was asked to feel for the bounty huntress, he found only love and joy, and no more pain.

* * *

Pit found himself back in the Heavens with his Goddess, Palutena. While he never grew bored of her company, she only came when she was most needed, leaving Pit feeling lonely. He began to travel the worlds, visiting old smashers, meeting new people, yet always within reach of his beloved goddess. After his death nearly a century later, many say he became a God himself, with magnificent wings of the softest down and a kind heart for all who looked to him for answers. Yet for now, he enjoyed being a young angel. Of the Smashers he visited, he visited Ike, Roy, Katan, and Pichu the most. He and Pichu became very fast friends.

* * *

Ike traveled with Roy and Katan for a long time, before parting ways with them to return to his home continent of Tellius. He returned to the Greil Mercenaries, named after his dead father, and continued his service to the Princess of Crimea. Of the smashers, he was probably the least affected by the battle. However, he still held the Super Smash Bros in the highest honor, and pledged that he would not hesitate to lead his mercenaries into battle to help them, though he himself was considered a Super Smash Bro.

* * *

Before he had released Katan, Doctor Mario told her she may never be able to walk again, let alone use a sword thanks to the damage to her arm and legs. Master Hand brought the Fire Emblemers and Pichu back to their world, where Rath just so happened to be exercising his old nomad horse. He recognized the need for a horse, and brought them back to his nomad group, where Roy re-met Sue and Lyn. Lyn and Katan became fast friends, with their love of swords foremost in their conversations. When Katan told Lyn of her predicament, Lyn offered to return to Lycia to help her retrain her body. Rath saw them off as far as the Sacaen border. By the time the six, consisting of Roy, Katan, Pichu, Lyn, Sue, and Ike reached Ostia, Ike decided to say his good byes. Roy gave him the directions to Badon, where he was told to ask for Dart, adopted son of the late Captain Fargus. With his pledge fresh on his tongue, Ike parted ways with his friends.

Roy's childhood friend Lillina was overjoyed to see Sue and Roy as they entered the Ostian Keep. Much to Roy's amazement, his father too, was in Ostia.

"Roy!" Eliwood called. Roy had just helped Katan off of her horse, and steadied her on the crutches she had been given. On her saddle was the blade Falchion, which Samus had asked her to keep until they one day were reunited. "And you must be Katan."

"Father! Yes, this is Katan. Katan, this is my father, Eliwood, Marquess of Pherae." Roy introduced them. "And my old friend, daughter of the Marquess of Ostia, Lillina."

"Hello!" Lillina greeted Katan.

"Hello."

Pichu hopped off of Katan's saddle onto her shoulder, peering wide-eyed as a large man with brighter blue hair to match Lillina's own blue hair appeared. Lillina blinked, wide-eyed at Pichu.

"Lord Hector." Roy greeted. Hector grinned.

"Got yourself beat up I see, boy." Hector joked. Roy coughed, giving Hector a look that said to 'not ask.'

Eliwood saw this look and noticing Marth's sword, realized at least one reason not to ask. He could tell that the Altean Prince was no longer among them, and was sad to see it had to be so.

Lyn and Sue stood to the side, waiting for introductions to finish. Eliwood and Hector noticed the Sacaen woman, and soon Hector had Lyn in his arms in a bear hug, Eliwood began asking Lyn where she had disappeared to this time, a hearty smile set upon his elderly face.

* * *

Two days passed before the groups went their separate ways; Hector and Lillina staying in Ostia, while Eliwood, Lyn, Sue, Roy, Katan, and Pichu journeying to their final stop, Pherae.

Pichu had taken to the old Pheraen Marquess, and sat on his shoulder, talking rapidly to the older man about outrageous stories, and Eliwood would laugh on occasion, leaving Katan and Roy to their own thoughts. Lyn and Sue had ridden ahead, but soon came back and joined in watching the tiny poke'mon's antics.

"We're almost there, and you'll get to see the keep." Roy was glad to be home; last time he had been here, he had a gloomy Marth in tow, and Nils was given the task to drag them out to the Dread Isle.

Katan smiled, patting her hand gently on the splint her right leg was wrapped in. "I never thought I'd end up living in this place." She spoke. "I thought of traveling the world, once Luan was forced back to the Dragon Realm. We even managed to make it to a continent named Magvel at one point, where there were creatures that resembled dragons, but it was in the middle of a war, so we didn't stay long."

"Here we are!" the two heard Eliwood exclaim. The group rounded a bend, and soon a large keep came into view. Mountains surrounded it to the north, while plains ran the rest of the way to the ocean. They had passed a village a short while before, where Eliwood and Lyn had heartily greeted the two village magistrates, Rebecca and Wil, while Roy greeted their son and one of his best old friends, Wolt.

The gates of the keep were open, and a lone horseman rode out upon sighting the group. Two rode on the horse's back, and as they approached, Eliwood slowed his own steed to a slow walk.

The horse drew up, and the taller of the two bowed his head to Eliwood. "M'lord."

"Well, well!" sitting in front of the taller man was none other than Nils.

"Lord Nils!" Katan cried out in joy, nearly jumping from her horse's back in joy.

"Well met Marcus, Nils." Eliwood greeted. Nils merely smiled.

* * *

Dinner was laid out in honor of the return of Katan and Roy, and in the memory of Marth. Katan and Nils caught up with one another, and soon Lyn joined them. Roy sat at Katan's side, and then, Roy and Katan announced their plans. They would marry, and Katan would begin her rehabilitation. But before anything else happened, Katan wished to take one last trip to the lands of her childhood. Roy also announced they planned to make a trip to Altea, to tell of the death of their ex-prince, Marth Lowell. Nils then stood, and called out.

"I have someone, that I think you two would be most interested in meeting." Nils looked at Katan and Roy, who looked back in confusion. A door opened, and a short figure entered, his black and white hair bouncing as he stepped into the light, his blue eyes sparkling with nervous happiness.

"Luan!" Katan cried out.

"Hello Katan." It was truly Luan this time. "Listen, I'm really sorry ab-"

"Don't worry, brother, come and forget what happened." Roy spoke this time. Pichu squeaked in agreement from his perch on the table between Roy and Katan. Luan's face split with a smile of joy. There was no hint of the anger or jealousy he had been harboring in the last few weeks that the smashers had been together, carefree as they could have been.

* * *

As Katan and Roy retired for the night, Roy had to carry her to his room, the stairs hard to negotiate on crutches. He laid her down before sitting next to her. Pichu had been left in Sue's care for the night, leaving the two alone.

"All for one, one for all." Katan spoke abruptly. Roy blinked.

"What?"

"All for one, one for all. Wouldn't that make a good motto for the Smashers?" she scratched at her arm for a moment. "We're always here for each other, maybe sometimes less than other times, but still…"

"Yes… You're right." Roy spoke. Roy thought back to before the battle, when the smashers had been united. "I wonder what happened to Mewtwo, Ganondorf, and Bowser?"

"Who knows." Katan spoke softly. "We should look for them. When we're better… Just us and…" She grew quiet, knowing that their usual group of friends was gone.

"All for one, one for all." Roy repeated. "All for one, one for all…"

* * *

"What a strange story, Papa!" A tiny girl stared up in admiration as at last, the long story ended. She had tiny golden locks of hair, pulled back into twin pigtails while her eyes were a deep navy blue. She sat on a soft, comfortable cot, a single blanket pulled about her tiny, fragile body.

Across the room, an older daughter sat. She had a light shade of blue hair with several golden streaks, her eyes a sharp emerald green. She was pretending to read an old book, but in reality, she had been listening to the story. Her father told the story throughout her young life, and for some reason, she never bored of it.

"Dear, let the child sleep." An older woman entered the room. Like the small child, she had brilliant golden locks of hair. Like her older daughter, she had emerald eyes. A gentle, loving smile was set gently upon her fair face.

"Its okay, Mama, I was just about to go to sleep." The small child laid down and pretended to go to sleep. "See? I'm sleeping!"

"Now now, dearest, you need to go to sleep." The lady crossed the room, bowing to kiss her young daughter's forehead. She turned to her husband, a serious, yet worried look on her face.

"We need to talk, dear." She stated simply. The older daughter looked up, looking from mother to father, imagining that some strange tension had built just then. But her father did not look in the least bit worried.

"Alright." The man bent, his navy locks dangling teasingly upon the tiny child's face. "Sleep, princess, and I shall teach you to ride tomorrow."

The child giggled, a yawn causing a pause. "Alright Papa. Good night. Good night Mama, good night sister."

"Good night, Kitty." The sister stood, putting a feather in between the page she had been on for the past several hours. She left the room, headed for the outdoors where she had set up her cot for the hot summer months.

The man and woman left, heading for the kitchen. Before they entered the kitchen, however, the man caught the woman's wrist, and pulling her close, teased her face with a butterfly kiss. The woman smiled, pulling him into the kitchen. Parting, the man closed the door before sitting on a padded stool.

"What's the matter? Did Cain and Abel get loose again?" the man asked, looking towards the door that led outside.

"No. Its this." The woman pulled out a strange device. It looked like a small box made out of a shiny plastic. It had a screen, and across the screen, that had lit up, was a date and a message.

"Reunion?" the man blinked. "No way! I didn't think they'd finally-"

"Do you want to go?" the woman asked. "You know it would be hard for Kitty. I don't know if Marie would want to go either, she's not a social thing."

The man smiled. "Of course we should go! Its been what, almost sixteen years since we've seen anyone outside of the Community."

"I would like to see the others again." The woman smiled. "We have a day to respond, or I do anyways. After that, we have a week to arrive."

"Perfect. I'll go talk to Marie." The man's smile grew so wide, the woman half expected his head to be halved. "After all, what would the Super Smash Bros Reunion be without Samus the Bounty Hunter and Marth the Ex-Prince of Altea?"

* * *

Pit: Read

Pichu: And

Ike: Review!

Pit: Bye! Hope you enjoyed it!


	16. Coming Soon!

**Coming Soon!**

A tale of woe and tragedy! The separation of young lovers and friends, to the point where even fate never thinks they'll meet again! Death and sorrow are all that await them-

I needed to find a new book. A new story. This one sounded a bit too much like my own.

I'd been here on Desert for way too long. Was the heat finally getting to my head? Maybe sand worms had gotten into my brain. Maybe they were controlling my thoughts. No, that doesn't sound very good.

How I wished I could see him again. Or at least had someone I could share the memory of him with.

He wasn't going to come looking for me. He thinks I'm dead. Nothing but worms in the ground. The non-sandy ground. That's me. Samus. Dead. Shot to death, in fact.

Which makes me wonder, how did Katan, Ness, and Pichu get here? They didn't die obviously, or they'd still have their memories…

Yep. Sand worms. Great.

* * *

A little side story, the three years between All for One, One for All: Beginnings and All for One, One for All: Return. Takes place on Desert, from Samus and Katans' points of view. Don't miss it!


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